LOS ANGELES — Yielding to pressure from community activists, Mayor Richard Riordan and Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said Thursday that they favor redeploying LAPD's senior lead officers, the community liaisons who had been assigned to routine patrol duties.
At a news conference Thursday, Riordan announced a plan to bring back and enhance the program, which he said will improve "community policing without reducing field or patrol resources."
Riordan proposed scheduling the 168 senior lead officers so that each station has one on duty seven days a week and training them to enhance their ability to solve problems, plan strategically and deal effectively with the mentally disabled.
He proposed phasing in half of the officers immediately and the remaining 84 during the coming fiscal year.
The Police Commission will consider Riordan's proposal Tuesday.
"I'm fully supportive of the mayor's call for reinstating the senior lead officer program--and enhancing it," said Police Commission President Gerald L. Chaleff. "I think it's an outstanding program."
