Select Patrol Update

First news is that we have added a new EPSA page to selectpatrol.com. The EPSA page features an interactive membership application which allows Echo Park residents to join without delays and the hassles of paperwork. We accept Paypal and membership is immediate upon completion of the application. Point, click and the patrolman brings a yard sign to your door. Select Patrol is on the move. In late March, we located our offices from Atwater Village to the City of Pasadena. In 20 years' time we have come full-circle. We had originally moved to Los Angeles from the corner of Colorado Bl and Euclid in 1992. Now, we are a few blocks from our former location at Colorado and El Molino across from Vroman's. The decision for our move was based primarily on economics. For the past five years we paid for an office and a separate parking facility for our vehicles. The new location consolidates the office and parking onto a single site. In addition, there were also the tax considerations which favored relocation outside of Los Angeles. The revenue-based formula in Los Angeles worked out to be a huge chunk of money that we have had to part with the first of every year. Now we can get some relief and do something that truly benefits the patrolmen of Select Patrol. Something that had concerned me for a long time was the fact very few of my staff can afford to buy new body armor. Not difficult to understand, however since new protective panels and carriers run in the range of $350.00 to $1000.00 and higher. As an alternative, most patrolmen either receive hand-me-downs from law enforcement friends or buy used vests at gun shows.These pieces are well beyond their warrantied life and do not provide the optimal level of protection they offered when new. This is a circumstance that I have found unacceptable. Especially in the face of statistics which show that out of 112 US private officer fatalities in 2012, 65 were caused by armed assailants. In many of these cases the officers were unarmed. By the end of this year, I am resolved to provide each of my patrolmen with new body armor free of cost. I cannot think of a better cause. DW

Mental Health Public Safety

In the weeks since the mass murders in Newtown, Conn., many voices have articulated theories as to the “how” and “why” of this particular mass murder, and the preventative steps that can be taken to avoid future atrocities. In addition to the calls for a renewed federal ban on so-called assault weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms purchases, there have been productive discussions concerning mental health. I believe that addressing the issue of mental health care – and ensuring access to services by families of the mentally ill – is the overarching component in preventing mass killings in schools, the workplace and the family home. I recently came across a report about Laura’s Law, named for Laura Wilcox, a 19-year-old college student who was murdered in 2000 by a man who suffered from late-onset schizophrenia. She was shot four times at point-blank range while she worked as a volunteer at a mental hospital during Christmas break. Passed by the State of California in 2002, Laura’s Law was designed to provide housing and treatment for dangerous mentally ill persons reluctant to seek help. Under Laura’s Law, a judge can order outpatient treatment for up to six months for a seriously mentally ill individual proven likely to pose a danger either to himself or others. The process can be initiated by family members, social workers or the police. The irony is that despite having been passed into law more than a decade ago, Laura’s Law has been effectively nullified, through lack of funding, in nearly all but two counties in the state. Nevada County, where Laura Wilcox had lived, is the only county in the state where Laura’s Law has been used as an instrument of the court in 54 cases. Los Angeles County has recently begun a smaller pilot program based on Laura’s Law. Critics of involuntary treatment say the process takes way the rights and dignity of the individual. This argument has been at the core of opposition to Laura’s Law and similar measures throughout the US. The public is hesitant to empower the State with the ability to force citizens into care too swiftly. The image of the State Hospital runamuck with corruption and unchecked powers is an indelible one. No one wants a return to the dark days of mental health care and all of the ghastly images that era conjures. Despite this understandable reluctance, I believe we must acknowledge that the current voluntary care system does not meet the public safety needs of modern society – a point proven all too well by the cases of Jared Loughner, James Holmes, Adam Lanza and too many others to name. To effectively take control of public safety, the State must have the ability to step in and administer care when necessary for the severely ill who have long refused treatment and are likely pose a threat to themselves or others. To learn more about Laura's Law, you can visit the website www.mentalillnesspolicy.org.org. To encourage Los Angeles County to continue and expand the Laura's Law pilot program, please contact Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina's office at molina.lacounty.gov. DW