Recently in Crime and Public Safety Category
Residents, business owners and Neighborhood Watch members in the city's southeast quadrant are invited to meet with Lt. Joann Guzek and present questions or concerns.
The 90 minute meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Washington Park Community Center, 865 E. Grand Ave.
In addition to addressing concerns about the area the session will offer an opportunity to discuss traffic as a crime prevention topic.
Those planning to attend the meeting can e-mail or call Guzek ahead of time with questions or concerns so she can offer answers at the meeting.
Guzek can be reached by e-mail at AreaCommander_Southeast@ci.pomona.ca.us or by calling 909-802-7496.
Additional information on the meeting is available by calling the Pomona Police Department's crime prevention office at (909) 620-2318.
The southeast quadrant of the city consists of the area east of Garey Avenue and south of Holt Avenue.
POMONA -- City officials will soon have a tool to address long-established alcohol sales businesses that have a negative impact on neighborhoods where they are located.
Members of the City Attorney's Office are developing a proposed ordinance that, if approved by the City Council, would provide a system of regulating businesses in existence prior to the use of conditional use permits in the city.
Under the "Deemed Approved Alcoholic Beverage Establishment Regulations," long-established businesses would be notified they are considered approved for operation.
However, if a business is the source of crime or is a public nuisance it could be subject to sanctions, Deputy City Attorney David King recently told a group of members of the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan Community Board.
The process would include opportunities for hearings and appeals.
King, who was reviewing a draft of the proposed ordinance with the Community Board members, said the regulations are still in development.
About a dozen cities around the state have used this approach to address problem businesses, he said.
Among the cities that have "deemed approved" regulations is Oakland, which established its local rules in 1993, King said.
Oakland's ordinance was challenged in court but held up to judicial scrutiny, he said.
By creating regulations for long-established alcohol sales businesses "the city is not trying to regulate alcohol," King said. "It's a public nuisance ordinance."
City Manager Linda Lowry said recently that while most alcohol sales businesses are responsible, some may not be and require attention.
Creating regulations such as the one being developed makes sense, Lowry said.
"If cities can develop a means to protect a neighborhood from abuses, we'll do it," Lowry said.
The regulation being developed is something that has the support of residents such as Bernardo Rosa, co-chairman of the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan Community Board.
Rosa said Tuesday this regulation is the natural next step after the City Council adopted the city's social host ordinance late last year.
The social host ordinance approved in December was designed to address loud, unruly parties before they become the sources of violence.
Often under-age drinking also takes place at such gatherings.
Through the social host responsibility ordinance, fines and other penalties can be set against owners, tenants or landlords responsible for the house or private property where a person conducts or allows a disorderly gathering to take place.
Rosa said one nuisance business can have a negative effect on an entire neighborhood.
Establishing regulations to address problem businesses where alcohol is sold will have a positive, wide-ranging effect on an area, he said.
"It will foster a consistent standard for all (alcohol sales) outlets," Rosa said.
Such regulations aren't meant to be unfriendly to businesses, he said.
They are meant to get nuisance businesses to be responsible, Rosa said.
Addressing such businesses will improve public safety, which in turn creates a better environment for young people and families in the city, Rosa said.
Pursuing such policies sends a message about Pomona, he said.
Residents, business owners and members of Neighborhood Watch groups of the city's northeast quadrant are invited to attend a meeting with members of the Pomona Police Department.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Madeleine Catholic Church, 931 E. Kingsley Ave. and will be lead by Lt. Michael Ellis.
Local issues and concerns will be discussed at the meeting. In addition, part of the meeting will be used to discuss burglaries, the crime prevention topic for the evening.
Questions and concerns can be submitted ahead of time so police personnel can research the topics and bring answers to the meeting.
Questions and concerns can be e-mailed to AreaCommander_Northeast@ci.pomona.ca.us or by calling (909) 802-7494.
For additional details contact the Pomona Police Department's crime prevention unit at (909) 620-2318.
The city's northeast quadrant is made up of the area east of Garey Avenue and north of Holt Avenue.
Residents and business owners of the city's northwest quadrant are being
invited to attend a Jan. 12 meeting hosted by the Pomona Police Department.
The 90 minute meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in Room B100 of Pomona First Baptist Church,
which is near Garey Avenue and Pearl Street.
The meeting is designed to discuss any concerns affecting the northwest
portion of the city which is made up of the area west of Garey Avenue and
north of Holt Avenue.
Part of the evening's meeting will focus on theft and preventing being a
victim of thefts.
Those planning on attending the meeting can submit questions or concerns
ahead of time and they will be addressed by Lt. Ron McDonald, northwest area
commander.
Questions and concerns can be e-mailed to
AreaCommander_Northwest@ci.pomona.ca.us or can be called in to McDonald at
909-802-7493.
For additional information call the department's crime prevention offices at
(909) 620-2318.
]A proposed resolution accepting a state grant for traffic enforcement will go before the City Council Monday night.
If the council accepts the one-year state Office of Traffic Safety Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Grant for $369,955 it would allow the Police Department to carry out various activities designed to reduce traffic collisions, according to a city staff report.
Newly appointed Police Chief Dave Keetle will be sworn into his new post during Monday night's Pomona City Council meeting.
POMONA - Nine months after taking the helm of the Pomona Police Department on an interim basis, David Keetle has been appointed the city's new police chief.
Mayor Elliott Rothman made the announcement at the start of Monday night's City Council meeting after informing those in attendance the council voted 6-0, with Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa abstaining.
"Dave Keetle is our new police chief," Rothman said. "Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming the new chief of the city of Pomona."
Keetle, who had been assistant chief since September 2006, took over as interim chief in December following the retirement of former chief Joe Romero.
The newly named chief did not comment at the meeting. He was out of town for a training session on Tuesday, and unavailable for comment.
City Manager Linda Lowry said Tuesday that Keetle is a self-starter who has already begun taking steps to improve areas of the Police Department.
"Dave is the consummate professional," Lowry said, adding his experience and education have all prepared him for this new phase of his career.
Keetle, 54, is a Pomona native who started his career as a member of the Monrovia Police Department in 1981, according to a statement from the city.
In 1984 Keetle moved to the Pomona Police Department where he has served as a canine officer and a founding member of the Special Weapons and Tactics team before going on to become the team's commander.
He played a key role in bringing back the department's helicopter bureau.
Keetle has associate's degrees in liberal arts and administration of justice and a bachelor's degree in business administration. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Senior Management Institute for Police.
He is a member of the San Gabriel Valley Police Chiefs Association, the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association and is involved with various organizations including serving as a member of the board of directors of YMCA of Pomona Valley.
During the last nine month Keetle has shown he's the right person for the job, Lowry said.
"He's sincere, he's reliable, focused and genuine. I think he has the respect of the community, the department, the council and me," Lowry said.
Keetle is interested in making the department "the best it can be," she said.
Addressing the city's budget created the delay in appointing a new chief, said Rothman Tuesday.
However, that time gave the City Council a chance to "see how (Keetle) did and he did fine," Rothman said.
"He's good, he's tough and is going to be tough on crime. His men look up to him," Rothman said.
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