After the rash of community complaints in the past month, and a perception of rising crime in the area, Pacific Palisades suddenly finds itself assigned a second senior lead officer, Barb Scallon, who brings to her role a broad range of experience. “I’ve dealt with everything from leaf blowers to murder suspects,” says Scallon, a 15-year department veteran. She is working daytime hours, complementing Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale, who works in the evenings, thus providing “double the coverage” in town. Ragsdale will formally introduce Scallon tonight at the Palisades Community Council meeting in the library. Currently, one car with two officers patrols the Palisades 24 hours a day. That car is connected to police radio, and can be called away when crimes occur in other areas. Ragsdale and Scallon are not attached to the radio, and therefore are called out of the area only in an emergency. Their priority is to respond to local community problems and issues, such as nuisance and suspicious activities at the Asilomar bluffs and in the business district, while also responding to calls in the Palisades. The addition of Scallon is separate from the “dedicated” car that Captain Mike Chambers of the West L.A. Division pledged to try to get for the community at the January 8 Community Council meeting. Scallon has worked in Hollywood, Rampart, Southeast (Watts) and, for the last 18 months, in the West L.A. division. She has been a senior lead officer for 2-1/2 years and recently spent about 9 months working with detectives. Scallon, 36, has known she wanted to be a police officer since age 10. Seeing police officers on TV intrigued her. “It looked exciting, glamorous and fun.” Now, she says, “It’s a feeling that I can contribute to helping people live peacefully. I can do that and, at the same time, put the bad guys in jail.” While Scallon says that statistically, crime isn’t as high here as the rest of the division, the community is isolated, with a lack of visible police presence. Now, in addition to the patrol car, there will be a senior lead officer covering the Palisades from 9 a.m. to midnight four days a week. The extended coverage will be available to deal with crime, quality of life, traffic and other issues. “The visibility of police presence usually acts as a deterrent,” Scallon says. Ultimately, problems in a community dictate the schedule of senior lead officers. These officers can also bring in other department resources to help in specific areas, such as traffic enforcement, juvenile car, school police and bike patrol. Scallon will focus on the Village area, schools, traffic problems, the bluffs and neighborhood issues such as noise and transients. This area’s low crime rate allows for a different way of policing than Scallon experienced in some of the high-crime areas where she has worked. “You can build a great community partnership in an area that allows you to maintain a peaceful environment,” she says. Scallon lives in Orange County and is married to an LAPD SWAT officer. They have an 8-year-old daughter. “You feel a personal obligation to make everyone feel safe,” Scallon says. “Crime prevention and self-protection applies everywhere. Self-protection is awareness. Don’t help yourself become a victim. Don’t leave your car unlocked, don’t leave valuables in the vehicle. Don’t be oblivious to what is going on. Don’t be a good victim for a criminal.” Scallon played softball at Cal State Fullerton, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in police science. She was an all-state left fielder and now plays slow-pitch softball on an interdepartmental team. She worked as a Fullerton dispatcher before joining the LAPD 15 years ago. Women currently make up 19 percent of the LAPD’s sworn personnel. Scallon, who began her new position last Thursday, is available to help community members with law enforcement concerns. Contact her on her cell phone: 622-3315.
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