LBPD Announces It Will Use "Neighborhood Safe Streets" Funds -- City Gen'l Fund Sums Currently Allocated For Discretionary Use By Each LBPD Division Commander -- To Deploy Add'l Resources In Key Areas/Increase Visibility Patrols Along Anaheim St. Corridor And Throughout South Patrol Division
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(July 2, 1:15 p.m.) -- Responding LB's 29th shooting within 55 days, LBPD has announced that it will use "Neighborhood Safe Streets" funds -- City Gen'l Fund sums currently allocated for discretionary use by each LBPD Division Commander -- to "deploy additional resources in key areas and increase high visibility patrols along the Anaheim Street corridor and throughout the South Patrol Division."
The statement was included in a July 2 release on LB's most recent shooting/homicide (July 1, 1200 block MLK, coverage here.)
LBPD's South Division runs from Anaheim St. south to the Queen Mary, and from the L.A. river to Cherry Ave. (purple areas on map below.) LBPD's Public Information Office declined to elaborate on specific figures for additional deployments [consistent with its policy not to publicly discuss detailed deployment information.]
South Division is includes purple areas on map
The July 1 shooting/homicide was the 29th shooting crime scene (fatal + wounding + no person hit) within 55 days (list below.) The 29 shooting crime scenes within 55 days have disproportionately impacted mainly working class and historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Central LB, WLB and NLB [circumstances LBREPORT.com has called the city's worst inequity, a "tale of two cities."]
[Scroll down for further.]
In FY13, a Council under former Mayor Foster erased LBPD's 22-sworn personnel (20 officers + 2 sergeants) field anti-gang unit (LBREPORT.com detailed coverage here) and Councils under Mayor Garcia haven't restored the field anti-gang unit despite voter approval of the June 2016 Measure A "blank check" sales tax increase (bringing City Hall over 50+ million annually.)
Later today (July 2), the Council is scheduled to discuss seeking voter approval to extend the Measure A "blank check" sales tax increase via a March 2020 ballot measure.
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Failing to budget funding to restore the field anti-gang unit occurs in the context of the Mayor/Council's failure to restore 186 citywide deployable police officers that LB taxpayers previously had, leaving LB with the thin per capita police level detailed here.)
The City of Long Beach currently provides LB taxpayers with a budgeted sworn police level for routine citywide deployment of 1.59 officers per thousand residents (up from 1.58 in FY18.) By comparison, L.A.'s Mayor/Council budget 2.47 officers per thousand residents (not including Airport/Port police.) Signal Hill, surrounded by Long Beach, budgets 3.15 sworn officers per thousand residents for its taxpayers.
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Our LB ratio doesn't include officers that the Council doesn't allocate or pay-for; that number is decided -- and paid for -- by various entities that contract with LBPD to provide police services at LB's Port, Airport, LBUSD, LBCC, LBTransit, L.A. County Carmelitos housing and Metro. Contracted officers aren't routinely available during their contracted shifts to respond to citywide needs or to calls for service where you live (unless you live inside the Port, the Airport or on a LBTransit bus or a Metro train.) If the number of contracted officers were included, LB's FY19 budgeted police level would be 1.79 officers per thousand.
For details on LB's FY19 citywide deployable budgeted figure, see LBREPORT.com coverage at this link.
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In calculating the officer-to-population ratio, LBREPORT.com used the most recent updated population estimate for CA cities provided by the CA Dept.of Finance (May 2018 Report E-1.)
In FY17, LB's Mayor/Council restored 17 citywide deployable officers. In FY18. the Mayor/Council restored no additional citywide deployable officers. For FY19, Mayor Garcia recommends restoring 6 citywide deployable (bicycle patrol) officers while city management proposes shifting one citywide deployable officer to an Airport-contracted position, producing a net increase from FY18 to FY19 of 5 additional routine citywide deployable budgeted officers..
The net result for taxpayers as for FY19: 22 citywide deployable officers restored out of 208 erased...with 186 citywide deployable budgeted officers that LB taxpayers previously received yet to be restored.
Mayor Robert Garcia has defended the current pace of officer restorations and in August 2018 balked at fully restoring the 180+ remaining officers he voted as a Councilman (2009-2014) to erase. LBREPORT.com coverage (with audio) here.
The 29 shooting crime scenes (person-hit shootings plus "no-person-hit" shootings) are:
May 7: Man shot/wounded at Market St./Pine Ave. (8th district, LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 10: no-person-hit shooting, 1000 block of Minerva Park (2nd dist., LBREPORT.com coverage here)
May 10: Man shot/wounded inside a business in the 4900 block of LB Blvd. (8th dist., LBREPORT.com coverage here)
May 11, no-person-hit shooting in the 800 block Daisy Ave. (rounds hit unoccupied vehicle and building, LBREPORT.com coverage here).
May 11, man shot/wounded in 900 block of Daisy Ave. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 11: Triple-victim shooting on Andy St. (LBREPORT.com coverage here)
May 11: Person shot/wounded in the 200 block of E. Artesia Blvd. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 12: 600 block E. Esther (Poly High Area), casings found, no person(s) hit; LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 12: Shots fired at bicycle rider, 4900 block LB Blvd. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 14: Shots fired at two men in parked vehicle, 3000 block Santa Fe (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 18: Six People Shot (Woman Dies + 5 Adults Wounded), 1500 block W. PCH (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 20: LB Has TWELFTH Shooting Crime Scene Within Two Weeks: Someone Shoots At Woman Driving On MLK Ave. Near 11th St. (6th dist.) (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 22: LB Has THIRTEENTH Shooting Crime Scene Within 15 Days: Man Struck By Gunfire Walking In Hellman Neighborhood, 800 block Cerritos Ave. (1st dist.) (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
May 27: LB Has FOURTEENTH Shooting Crime Scene In 20 Days: Man Is Shot/Wounded Mon Nite Near Front Door Of Addams Elementary School (200 block E. Plymouth St., 8th Dist., (coverage here)
May 30: LB Has FIFTEENTH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7, Central LB Shooting (2300 Elm b/w LB Blvd./Atlantic, 6th dist.) Is Fatal, Leaves Man Dead, Coverage here
May 30: LB has SIXTEENTH shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: NLB Shooting Misses Hitting Person Driving Area South St./Paramount Blvd. (border 8th/9th dists., coverage here)
May 31: LB has SEVENTEENTH shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Man Is Shot At Midday, 400 block E. 17th (Near Linden b/w Atlantic/LB Blvd., 1st Council Dist.)coverage here)
June 2: LB has EIGHTEENTH shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Multiple Vehicles Struck By Gunfire, 17th/Locust (1st Council Dist.) coverage here)
June 5: LB has NINETEENTH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: TWO Men Shot, A Double Homicide In Broad Daylight, 5500 block Atlantic, 8th Dist.), coverage here)
June 9: LB has TWENTIETH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Man Is Shot/Wounded Late Sun Afternoon, 6100 Block Atlantic (9th dist., area of new "The Uptown" comm'l development), coverage here)
June 12: LB has TWENTY-FIRST Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: May Is Shot/Wounded, 1300 block E. 68th St. (9th dist., coverage here.)
June 13: TWENTY-SECOND Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Vehicle Struck By Gunfire, 1000 block Gardenia (just west of Cherry, border 2nd/4th districts near 6th, LBREPORT.cpm coverage here
June 19: TWENTY-THIRD Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Man Is Shot/Wounded, 2300 block MLK Ave. (6th dist.)
June 20: TWENTY-FOURTH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Someone Shoots At Man Sitting In Car Just West Of Coolidge Park (south of Artesia Blvd., West of L.A. River), coverage
June 24: TWENTY-FIFTH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: TWENTY-FIFTH Shooting Crime Scene Since May 7: Two Men Are Shot/Wounded, W. 31st St Along South Side Of Silverado Park, coverage here
June 24 and June 30: TWENTY-SIXTH and TWENTY-SEVENTH Shooting Crime Scenes Since May 7: Two Blocks Apart, Casings Found, No-Persons-Hit, Orange/Lemon Neighborhood South Of Hill St., coverage here
July 1: TWENTY-EIGHTH And TWENTY-NINTH -- Incl. A Homicide -- Shooting Crime Scenes Since May 7: Approx 4 p.m.: A Boy Is Shot/Wounded Atlantic Hill (6th Dist); Approx. 8:30 p.m., A Boy Is Shot/Wounded AND A Man Is Shot/Killed, 1200 Block MLK (6th Dist.), coverage here
For a continually updated chart showing LB shootings/homicides by Council district click here.
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