‘Peel Off’ Program Speeding Up Cargo through POLA
SAN PEDRO—A new program that expedites cargo by streamlining container moves is speeding up operations at the Port of Los Angeles.
Launched Feb. 25, the “Peel Off” Program has added a new operational model to the port to clear the current backlog of containers and improve the flow of cargo going forward.
The port teamed with stevedoring company The Pasha Group, harbor trucking firm Total Transportation Services Inc., several marine container terminal operators and a core group of major retailers to create the program. The program involves “peeling off” containers of high-volume customers to a near-dock yard where they are sorted for destination to inland distribution centers.
Under “Peel Off,” import containers loaded with goods belonging to high-volume shippers are stacked together in a block upon arrival at the port. The terminals expedite Total Transportation Services Inc. trucks through their gates to retrieve the containers and deliver them to the near-dock yard less than a mile away where they are sorted. The same trucks loop back to the terminals for the next inbound container. The trucks keep boxes moving by delivering outbound containers on the return leg.
The “Peel Off” yard is at Navy Way and Reeves Avenue on port property.
The yard is open six days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Seventeen acres are available for staging up to 500 containers. As demand grows, the facility can operate 24/7 and accommodate up to 650 containers.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers handle all gate and terminal operations at the “Peel Off” yard, including on-site chassis inspection, maintenance and repair.
Cargo owners can move their containers through the “Peel Off” yard in less than 48 hours and make those trips at night during off-peak traffic hours. Total Transportation Services Inc. has leased 250 chassis to ensure containers are on wheels and ready to roll. The parties are also coordinating their efforts with the new interchangeable chassis pool launched March 1 in the harbor complex.
Planning for “Peel Off” preceded the recent congestion problems that surfaced at all West Coast ports, but it is already helping to clear the backlog of cargo in Los Angeles. The program is open to all container terminals and may be expanded to other locations in the Port of Los Angeles.
Port initiatives include testing Web-based technology for increasing truck moves and working with terminal operators on business planning.
The Port of Los Angeles is also pursuing new strategies with the Port of Long Beach to achieve greater supply chain efficiencies throughout the region now that the two ports have clearance from the Federal Maritime Commission to coordinate their efforts.
Garcetti Signs Directive for Film Friendly Campaign
LOS ANGELES — On March 4, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he will add onto the entertainment industry agenda through an expanded film tax credit.
Assembly Bill 1839 is aimed to help cut red tape, coordinate city departments and promote job production in the film industry, Garcetti said in a statement.
The entertainment campaign, “Greenlight Hollywood” looks to ensure that the Los Angeles production maximize the benefits of the $1.6 billion incentives that will be available. These incentives include making city hall more film-friendly and proposing budgets to invest in city services that would encourage entertainment jobs.
Board of Public Works President Kevin James will serve as city hall’s chief film liaison. His main duties will include eliminating city bureaucracies and working with the mayor’s senior advisor for entertainment industry issues, Ken Ziffren said.
Garcetti’s executive directive requires all city departments to appoint a film liaison who will work with the industry to make departments more film friendly. The Economic and Workforce Development Department will have a list of city-owned properties for the industry to use free of charge.
During Oscar Week in Hollywood, Garcetti announced his “Greenlight Hollywood” campaign, trying to target studio green light committees and talent agencies to promote Los Angeles as the premier destination for entertainment production. The campaign will last until April.
LAPD Chief’s Recommendation Noted in Obama Task Force Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck’s recommendations were mentioned in a recent interim report that President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21stCentury Policing published.
The report was published March 4.
On Jan. 30, the task force hosted a public listening session at the University of Cincinnati’s Tangeman University Center Great Hall. Members of the task force heard testimony from five panels of witnesses on effective use of evidence-based research, use of force policy, diversity in law enforcement and best practices for police interaction during demonstrations.
Beck discussed his continued effort to evolve and refine strategies to further the LAPD’s mitigation of crime, the reduction of gang violence, the containment of terrorism and the continuation of reforms. The chief also spoke on turning a time of crisis into an opportunity to engage in dialog with the community and how the department has taken a hard, honest look at what can be done better in terms of evolving the culture of policing, building greater trust and communication with the community.
Beck also spoke about how the department is formally governed by the Board of Police Commissioners and how the department has a well-established civilian oversight system in place. The system is supposed to set broad policy and hold the chief accountable, as well as encouraging collaboration.
On March 1, a video posted on Facebook of officers killing a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles went viral, just three days before the report was published.
The LAPD said officers were responding to a report of a robbery when a man tried to fight them as they approached. During the struggle, according to the LAPD, the man, later identified by the name “Africa,” reached for an officer’s gun, prompting police to open fire.
The officer and a sergeant involved in the shooting were both wearing body cameras. It’s been reported in the Los Angeles Times that the body camera footage supports the events depicted in the video captured by a bystander.
The police department’s policies regarding the devices and access to their footage is still being finalized. However, Beck said he does not want to publicly release the recordings unless required to do so for court proceedings.
The report was published the same day as the Justice Department showed the results of an investigation on the killing of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo.
The investigation concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence against Wilson federally. It also concluded that evidence corroborated Wilson’s claim that Brown reached into the car and struck the officer and that claims that Wilson grabbed Brown first were inconsistent physical and forensic evidence.
The following is an excerpt from pages 20 and 46 of the Interim Report on
21stCentury Policing:
2.1 RECOMMENDATION: Law enforcement agencies should collaborate with community members to develop policies and strategies in communities and neighborhoods disproportionately affected by crime for deploying resources that aim to reduce crime by improving relationships, greater community engagement, and cooperation. The development of a service model process that focuses on the root causes of crime should include the community members themselves because what works in one neighborhood might not be equally successful in every other one.
Larger departments could commit resources and personnel to areas of high poverty, limited services, and at-risk or vulnerable populations through creating priority units with specialized training and added status and pay. Chief Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) described the LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership, in which officers engage the community and build trust where it is needed most, in the public housing projects in Watts. The department has assigned 45 officers to serve for five years at three housing projects in Watts and at an additional housing project in East Los Angeles. Through a partnership with the Advancement Project and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, the program involves officers going into the housing developments with the intent not to make arrests but to create partnerships, create relationships, hear the community, and see what they need—and then work together to make those things happen.33
2.1.1 ACTION
4.5 RECOMMENDATION: Community policing emphasizes working with neighborhood residents to co-produce public safety. Law enforcement agencies should work with community residents to identify problems and collaborate on implementing solutions that produce meaningful results for the community. As Delores Jones Brown testified, “Neighborhood policing provides an opportunity for police departments to do things with residents in the co-production of public safety rather than doing things to or for them.”81 Community policing is not just about the behavior and tactics of police; it is also about the civic engagement and capacity of communities to improve their own neighborhoods, their quality of life, and their sense of safety and well-being. Members of communities are key partners in creating public safety, so communities and police need mechanisms to engage with each other in consistent and meaningful ways. One model for formalizing this engagement is through a civilian governance system such as is found in Los Angeles. As Chief Charles Beck explained in testimony to the task force, The Los Angeles Police Department is formally governed by the Board of Police Commissioners, a five-person civilian body with each member appointed by the mayor. The Commission has formal authority to hire the Chief of Police, to set broad policy for the department, and to hold the LAPD and its chief accountable to the people.82 Community policing, therefore, is concerned with changing the way in which citizens respond to police in more constructive and proactive ways. If officers feel unsafe and threatened, their ability to operate in an open and shared dialogue with community is inhibited. On the other hand, the police have the responsibility to understand the culture, history, and quality of life issues of the entire community—youth, elders, faith communities, special populations—and to educate the community, including its children, on the role and function of police and ways the community can protect itself, be part of solving problems, and prevent crime. Community and police jointly share the responsibility for civil dialogue and interaction.
46 Interim Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing