Officer Lopez is a 19-year veteran of the LAPD. As a young girl, officer Lopez had always wanted to be a police officer. And so it was no surprise to her parents when she joined the police force about 19 years ago. She was in the DUI department for many years and became a DUI expert.
At present, officer Lopez works at the Van Nuys police station in the Community Outreach department where her interaction with the community is on a daily basis.
The Community Outreach Department of the LAPD, Van Nuys Division deals with everything from property damage to crime of all sort within the community. She interacts with the community to try to find out from people what the LAPD can do to keep the community safe. She encourages members of the community to always check that their cars are locked at all times and not to leave any items in sight within the vehicles that will attract thieves to break into their cars. It will make policing our neighborhood easier if we, the community, reports any suspicious character or activity around the community. Members of the community should try and attend neighborhood council meetings. This will keep everyone aware and updated about news and happenings within the community. Always keep abreast of news with your community and learn how to keep you and your families safe.
She told us about Prop 47. It is a law whereby encampment of the homeless can no longer be destroyed or properties thrown away by the police during cleanup of the streets. It is now against the law. These are considered “property” by law and before any of these properties cannot be moved or thrown away. It has to be “ITEMIZEED” by the police. This law makes the police helpless as they can be sued by the property owners, whether they are homeless or not.
Volunteer Surveillance Team: The LAPD has a new division called “Volunteer Surveillance Team” and she’s in-charge of this unit. She is looking for people to come and join with the LAPD as volunteers. The police department today does not have enough staff and manpower to do everything. Ideally, each area should be double in size but that is not the case today. According to her, Van Nuys is worse in terms of manpower. For example, other divisions/units are receiving and attending to Van Nuys calls almost on a daily basis because it is simply understaffed.
Her closing remarks to us were “be prepare, be vigilant, report any suspicious person or activity, report all and any crime and lastly, have the LAPD phone numbers available and ready to call at all times”.
Raffle:
Marcelo Quiroga won the raffle for the day
Meeting ended at 1:10P.M.
News from Chatsworth Chatter reported by Barbara Pampalone
Kris asked who could volunteer for Sunday, April 24, with the Historical Society, and Lona and Kris agreed to be there to help Martina Turner in the kitchen. We have a team of 4 or 5 who will be volunteering to be with the Greater Van Nuys Club for its Track Meet on April 23.
June 12th is the Art Walk and the Ride the Colt event where both the Chamber with Fleet Street and the West End group will want volunteers. In the evening the Taste of Chatsworth will feature great food from the local restaurants for only $20.00.
On May 14 the club members will go to Patches where we are let use the 10 sewing machines to make pillowcases for the Foster Children. We have from 10 – 2 to make as many pillowcases as we can. We are charged only for the material we use.
The Chatsworth Community Coordinating Council Banquet is the evening of May 13th and Karyne and Lona will go with Barbara to the Banquet. Bob Dager is working hard on that project that honors the volunteers of the community.
PROGRAM:
Lona Deniz gave a wonderful craft talk as her introduction to the group substituting for our program person that had a family emergency. Lona has just returned from a great trip to Grand Camon Island, Jamaica and Haiti where she enjoyed most the little gift stores of local products and watching the zip liners.
Lona was born in L.A and lived near Figueroa & 118 St. When Lona was 6 they moved to Torrance. The family moved to Chatsworth when her daughter, Lorraine, was three years old. She likes fishing, hunting, camping, but never learned to ski as her father hated the snow. She worked with Brownies and Cub Scouts and helped with pony shows where her daughter was participating. She still has a Shetland pony and a miniature horse. The horse is 31 inches high, needs lots of attention and seems happy to be treated like a dog. She worked to breed horses, but found that the smaller miniature horses (dwarf miniatures) have lots of health problems, so she wants a miniature that is 30 to 32 inches high. At one time they had quarter horses – One time within 2 months eleven horses gave birth. The family was active in ETI (Equestrian Training) and her daughter had costumes and won lots of shows. This area of the San Fernando Valley had a lot of horse’s years ago. Now the neighbors have big dogs and the horses are afraid of dogs so she has stopped breeding horses.
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