For years, the Gardena Police Department’s motto has been, “Service with Pride and Professionalism.” That normally meant providing face-to-face assistance to those in need with honor and integrity.
However, the GPD now offers the ability to provide information and assistance virtually through the introduction of a new and improved GPD website.
The department’s previous attempt at establishing a web presence was reminiscent of older websites from the 1990s that provided only basic information with no interactivity.
For years, the Gardena Police Department’s motto has been, “Service with Pride and Professionalism.” That normally meant providing face-to-face assistance to those in need with honor and integrity.
However, the GPD now offers the ability to provide information and assistance virtually through the introduction of a new and improved GPD website.
The department’s previous attempt at establishing a web presence was reminiscent of older websites from the 1990s that provided only basic information with no interactivity.
But with the new website, residents and other visitors are able to check local crime statistics for specific neighborhoods, get information on parking fees, towing fees, and fingerprinting fees. In addition, site visitors can file a complaint against an officer or recommend an officer for a commendation as well as provide anonymous crime tips and order collision reports.
Gardena Police Chief Ed Medrano personally signed off on every aspect of the site and ensured that visitors will have a positive experience.
“We wanted to make sure that we made it very clean, very easy to navigate, and we have a lot of online services that we wanted people to access,” Medrano said. “We wanted to make it very simple to get to but still provide all of the important information [that people want.]”
The new website was designed by Weberous, a Los Angeles-based web design firm that specializes in tailoring websites to the styles and personalities of their clients.
For just under $3,000 and with the help of GPD Administrative Analysts Elizabeth Hernandez and Bianka Buchanan, Weberous was able to develop a website that was not only easy to navigate, but mobile-friendly as well. In fact, visitors can access the site through the GPD app, which is available in the Google Play store.
“Our main components are very visible on the front page. If you notice, if you scroll through the front page, you see four buttons which represent our organizational values: commitment to service, commitment to our employees, community involvement, and community responsibility/accountability and right below those are major areas: a little introduction from me and an area where you can email me directly.”
Medrano says that one of the most visited areas of the site contains the crime stats for the city. The crime stats page of the website is divided into five sections: a 30-day crime map which is updated daily; a Part 1 Crime stats section covering robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and thefts; a Part 1 Crime graph showing monthly comparisons; a year-to-date crime stats page; and a list of the top 10 stolen vehicles.
“People want to know what’s going on in the community with the crime stats and maps,” Medrano said. “It’s very visually appealing and easy to locate.”
Although the response to the new and improved website has been positive, Medrano says that within the next 60 days, he plans to improve on a few key areas of the site.
“We will be enhancing the community survey and interaction portion,” Medrano said. “We will have a community survey that people can fill out online so that GPD can assess community needs, what they [residents] like and don’t like, what they can improve.”
