The Olympic Community Police Station, which covers LA Koreatown, opened in 2009 and has had six chiefs in the past 15 years. Captain Aaron Ponce assumed the role in 2022, a year that recorded the highest annual crime figures, with 12,035 incidents reported. This marked a 137% surge in crime cases compared to 2010 (8,763 cases), the year when the LAPD started to publish crime statistics.
Ponce says he’s taking a systematic approach to fighting crime amid an LAPD-wide staffing shortage. The Korea Daily caught up with Ponce at the Olympic Community Police Station on March 5 for an interview.
-How many officers are currently on duty at the Olympic Police Station?
“We currently have 235 officers and investigators on duty. We have an additional 10 civilian employees. In terms of officers, we have officers who patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week in four shifts, and officers who are assigned to different Specialized Units, such as gangs, narcotics, and VICE.”
-Has the number of officers decreased from about 300 fifteen years ago?
“Yes. A lot of the officers who were hired in the ’90s are retiring. Also, the LAPD Academy has a low enrollment rate. We need about 60 officers to graduate every month to fill the gap, and we’re only getting 20 to 30. As a result, fewer officers are being assigned to the Olympic Police Station. On average, two officers come every month, which is a small number. And there are months where they don’t come at all.”
-Is there any problem when operating the station?
“First of all, it’s not easy to maintain the special units as the manpower is declining. So we’re trying to maintain security by taking some of our patrol officers and putting them in special teams, or by ‘loaning’ investigators to other key departments. The good news is that the number of civilian employees has increased. If we include non-professionals, our count reaches 20, which is more than double the 10 we had when we opened.”
-Are there any Korean-speaking officers?
“It fluctuates from month to month depending on staffing, but the average is around 10 to 15. We would like to have more Korean-speaking officers. Mistrust often comes from miscommunication. Therefore, it would be good to have more Korean officers to improve trust between the community and the police station. In this regard, we have partnered with the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles to provide eight volunteers to provide interpretation services. We’re in the process of finalizing that, and we’ll have Korean interpreters at the front desk with the officers.”
-What are the most common crimes in Koreatown?
“Residential burglaries and shoplifting are the most common. As of 2024, there was a 24% increase in the number of residential burglaries and commercial burglaries compared to the previous year. Especially with the increase in the number of apartments, it is difficult to distinguish between criminals, residents, visitors, and managers.”
-Koreatown has a lot of new apartment construction. Is there an increase in crime as a result?
“I haven’t seen a direct trend, but it’s true that there are more opportunities to commit crimes. Especially with the parking shortage, there will be more curbside parking, which is an easy target for car crimes. One day I counted 78 cars parked on a block of Menlo Avenue from 11th Street to Pico Boulevard near the Olympic Police Station.”
-Any advice you could give to avoid crimes?
“Don’t let your guards down even if it’s apartment or condo parking lots, especially if you double-park in an apartment parking lot and leave your keys inside your car. I’ve seen many people get both cars stolen.”
-Any efforts you are taking to enhance the town’s security?
“There are three overtime patrols running. There’s the Business Corridor Overtime, which puts extra patrols on Vermont and Wilshire, Normandie, Western, and other high-traffic areas. There is also the Violent Crime Overtime, which is for key areas with high concentrations of violent crime; and the Homeless Overtime, which is to clean up homeless encampments and to enforce staying 500 feet away from schools.”
-How is Olympic Police Station different from other stations?
“With a jurisdictional area of 6.2 square miles, it is the second smallest of the LAPD’s 21 stations. With a population of more than 250,000 people, it’s not an easy area to cover, but the good news is that the number of officers is comparable to other stations. The Mission Community Police Station in North L.A. covers 62 square miles, 10 times larger than the Olympic Police Station, but has eight officers compared to our 10 in SLO. The strength of our station is that we are able to utilize our staffing resources more efficiently because of our smaller size.”
-Do you have any message for the Korean community?
“Recently, Koreatown has become a tourist destination, which has led to a significant influx of people from outside the town. This, however, has increased the crime rate. There are many ways to support the police station, such as volunteering, so I would like to ask the community to cooperate.”
BY SUAH JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
