WILSHIRE : Police Station Wins Award for Excellence

The Wilshire Division police station has earned the 1994 Eureka Award for Quality and Service Excellence.

The Eureka Awards are the California edition of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Program, named for the late former Secretary of Commerce. The awards recognize quality and service in four categories: government, nonprofit, and small and large business.

Tom Hinton, president of the San Diego-based California Council for Quality and Service, the nonprofit organization administering the awards, said the station was noted for outstanding leadership and community outreach.

“Wilshire happens to be very successful in their efforts to get the community involved,” he said.

“We completed a 40-page evaluation of the things we do here at the Wilshire Division,” said Sgt. Ron Batesole, head of community relations. “We had a 12-person team brainstorming.”

Batesole said the Wilshire Division took the lead in reaching out to the community when Chief Willie Williams called for more community-based policing, establishing the Wilshire Community-Police Advisory Board more than two years ago. The station also sponsors several other community, youth and charity activities, he said.

An awards ceremony will be held Friday beginning at 6:15 p.m. It is open to the public, and reservations may be made by calling the council at (619) 491-3050.