Multi-Agency Crenshaw Cruiser Task Force

May 23, 2000

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 23, 2000

"Multi-Agency Crenshaw Cruiser Task Force"

Los Angeles – The Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division will be coordinating an extensive traffic program for the purpose of controlling cruising on Crenshaw Boulevard on weekends. Cruising on Crenshaw Boulevard has been an ongoing problem for the past ten years. As Memorial Day weekend approaches, along with the warm sunny days and evenings that follow, cruising on the boulevard goes into full swing. In years past, the Department has experienced severe traffic congestion and blatant traffic violations, loitering and illegal parking which affect businesses in the area from the Santa Monica Freeway on the North to the Inglewood City limits on the South. Another associated factor that comes with cruising is the presence of gangs and the rise in crime. The presence of cruising has a definite negative effect on the "Quality of Life" for those citizens who reside in or about the Crenshaw District. The Los Angeles Police Department in conjunction with local agencies will not allow cruising to go rampant during the summer months of this year.

Officers from Southwest Area, 77th Area, Southeast Area, Harbor Area, Metropolitan Division and South Traffic Division will have the primary responsibility in enforcing violators on Crenshaw Boulevard. Joining the LAPD in this project will be traffic units from the California Highway Patrol. Liaison has been established with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Inglewood Police Department, the Department of Transportation, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the traffic courts that will be handling the large volume of traffic citations that will begin to flow through their court system.

South Traffic Division reminds all motorists that "driving is a privilege and not a right" and all resources and measures will be utilized to ensure the safety and well being of those citizens who are negatively impacted by Crenshaw Cruisers.

For further information, please contact Lieutenant Albert Zardeneta at South Traffic Division, 213-485-7336.

This Press Release was prepared by Officer Jason Lee, Media Relations Section.

For Release 5:00 pm PDT
May 23, 2000