Bombshell: Long Beach Police Chief McDonnell Says If LBPD Had Officers Cut [By Council] Over Past Three Years, Current Upward Crime Trend Could Be Reversed <p><small>Tells Art Levine's <i>Straight Talk TV</i> more police mean less crime when officers are properly supervised, led, trained and resourced.

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Bombshell: Long Beach Police Chief McDonnell Says If LBPD Had Officers Cut [By Council] Over Past Three Years, Current Upward Crime Trend Could Be Reversed

Tells Art Levine's Straight Talk TV more police mean less crime when officers are properly supervised, led, trained and resourced.

VIDEO TELLS AMECO SOLAR'S STORY. AND CLICK HERE TO HEAR AMECO PRESIDENT PATRICK REDGATE EXPLAIN WHY SOLAR MAKES SUCH GOOD SENSE.

(Oct. 12, 2012, 6:30 a.m., updated 10:30 a.m.) -- During a televised interview, Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell has said that if the city had the police officers that were eliminated with budget cuts over the past three years, the current upward crime trend could be reversed.

The Chief's matter-of-fact statement -- containing the unspoken bombshell corollary that City Council actions [budget votes in Sept. 2009, 2010, 2011, the latter over dissent by Schipske, Gabelich and Neal], enacting what Mayor Bob Foster calls "proportional budget reductions," invited increased violent and property crimes in parts of Long Beach -- came in an interview with Art Levine's Straight Talk TV.

Screen save via StraightTalkTV segment on YouTube.com

Chief McDonnell called the crime increases "predictable" and expressed concern about the direction in which crime is headed, but noted that in 2010, LB saw some 40 year lows in crime. Chief McDonnell said that when compared over a ten or twenty year period, he believes Long Beach is "a very safe city."

When asked by host/producer Levine if he accepts the principle that more police mean less crime, the Chief replied:

"...[I]f those officers are well supervised, well led, well trained and well resourced, that makes all the difference in the world. I know that if we were able to go back to the number we had three years ago, we could turn that trend around again."

The Chief didn't criticize the Mayor, city management or the Council for what had occurred...and the interview moved on to other subjects.

To hear a sound clip of the exchange, click here.

The full interview is now visible on-demand 24/7 on YouTube.com (here and here) and [UPDATE] on StraightTalkTV.com at this link.

Straight Talk is also cablecast in Long Beach and 40 surrounding cities, Saturday and Sunday at 9 am and 7 pm on LBTV Channel 3 and FIOS 21...and at 10am and 8pm on Charter Channel 101.