By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

February 14 -- Hoping to march on with the unprecedented community cooperation that helped end a murderous crime wave last week, Police Chief Tim Jackman announced Tuesday that he would implement a major policy change to help cops on the street better know the residents they protect and serve.

Coming two months after assuming command of the post, the former Long Beach deputy chief told a packed City Council chamber that the four-year-old controversial policy of making higher ranking lieutenants the point of contact in neighborhoods would change by July.

"Although the lieutenants may have become more involved in attending community meetings, the day-to-day relationships and contacts between the community and its patrol officers, at times, have become distant," Jackman said.

Meanwhile patrol officers -- who "felt the gap in communication" -- would again be restored as the eyes and ears in the community throughout the city’s distinct geographic service areas, Jackman said.

"Our patrol officers want to be and need to be actively engaged within the community," said Jackman, who took over the top law enforcement post in December. "There is no better way to develop trust -- obviously a two sided issue -- than developing a personal relationship."

The 2003 Neighborhood Centered Policing model instituted by Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. was not a conventional form of the Community Oriented Policing used by other departments, Jackman said.(see story)

"Through Neighborhood Centered Policing, patrol officers that would normally be assigned to address community concerns, were replaced by police lieutenants in hopes that lieutenants, through their rank within the police department, could more efficiently and in a timely manner, reassign personnel, resources and equipment to address community concerns," he said.

The old model was a source of tension within the community and the subject of internal debate within the department, Jackman acknowledged.

"Our community wants to not only see these men and women who patrol their neighborhoods, but they want to get to know them," said Jackman. "This holds true for our officers; for we too want to get to know our community so that we can better serve them."

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the poorest and most violence-prone swathe of Santa Monica – the Pico Neighborhood – where residents have long complained they do not know those who police their streets.

In addition to the shift in policy, other specific changes could be in store in the months ahead, Jackman said.

"We are currently evaluating our patrol plan and the distribution levels of all of our personnel and resources," he said

Jackman’s testimony Tuesday comes less than one week after police announced that tips from residents helped lead to the arrest of eight alleged West Los Angeles gang members charged with a string of shootings that left two dead.

On Tuesday the crowd gave Jackman and the host of police officials who lined the chamber walls a standing ovation.

It was a stark contrast to the grim mood that prevailed two months ago.

Within the first two weeks of Jackman's hiring, 22-year-old Miguel Martin was gunned down only blocks from where 15-year-old Eddie Lopez, a popular high school athlete, was fatally shot last February.

Last week, Jose Zapien, 18, was charged with both murders and nine counts of attempted murder and gang conspiracy. (see story)

A 15-year-old female also was charged with one count of murder, and police served four additional search warrants leading to the arrest of six others.

While Jackman had quickly become a presence in the community, after Martin's death the chief began regularly walking the Pico Neighborhood streets to get to know to most troubled section of his new city, he said.

Increased cooperation between Santa Monica and other police departments, as well as an extensive public outreach effort led by Jackman, helped lead to the arrests.

"In the past month there has been an unprecedented level of cooperation within our community to see justice done," he said. "Likewise, the level of collaboration between different law enforcement agencies is also extraordinary.

"We are aware that when investigating these types of crimes involving gangs, many residents are fearful to come forward and provide information," he told the council. "As a result, more often that not, these crimes go unsolved."

Before closing his remarks to a standing ovation and acknowledging several in the department who were instrumental in making the arrests, Jackman once again called for greater community ties to deter future gang-violence.

"It is said that the greatest impediment to criminal conduct is the certainty of capture,” the chief said. “If everyone in the community works together to identify and bring to justice those who would come here to hurt people, we will end the violence that much sooner.”

After a pause, Jackman added, "I think we have moved much closer to that goal in the last month.”