Community Safety

By Suja Lowenthal

All that we achieve in the way of public safety, comes by way of partnerships between police, fire, community, business and city officials. Here are some ways we have partnered to protect our community.

The number of rapes also dropped 16.4% from 2010. Robberies and aggravated assault increased slightly resulting in an overall 4.4% increase in violent crime over the historical lows of 2010. 2011 crime rates are still well below the average for the past 10 years.

One of the reasons we're seeing the decrease is because of partnerships. Over the past several years, LBPD has implemented several new and innovative technologies to improve the exchange of crime-related information with members of the community. Each technology has made a positive contribution to a more collaborative crime-fighting strategy. Two new programs centered on the LBPD's partnership with the community were launched in 2011, iWatch, and the Community Camera Partnership Program.

True to its motto, "See Something Say Something," iWatch is a public awareness campaign to encourage residents to report crime and suspicious activity. The Community Camera Partnership Program is a community policing partnership that enables the police to access privately owned cameras citywide to view video as well as obtain still images of criminal activity captured by the cameras. Existing departmental programs such as Nixle, Safe Reunion/Long Beach, and Tipsoft, all launched in 2010, continued to prove successful in 2011.

The LBPD's following of Nixle subscribers continues to increase, allowing more residents and visitors of our City to receive instant alerts via text, e-mail and/or web. The Safe Reunion/Long Beach program, which provides free emergency locator bracelets to those with cognitive disorders, resulted in four happy reunions of participants with their grateful loved ones in 2011. Tipsoft, a program that allows users to anonymously provide information to the LBPD electronically, relayed 270 tips to the Department on various crimes including narcotics activity and a murder.

The City has also worked to help with community safety.

Aggressive and passive panhandling I worked with our downtown merchants, residents, law enforcement, City Prosecutor and our City Attorney to research and develop an ordinance to protect pedestrians and businesses from aggressive and passive panhandling.

In public and private meetings, residents, business owners, property owners and business improvement districts had consistently expressed concerns about solicitation or what is commonly called "panhandling" of pedestrians and drivers. While there are protections for solicitation under the First Amendment, I believed that Long Beach could better define aggressive panhandling and determine locations where even minor solicitation is prohibited. I wanted to safeguard pedestrians when they are most vulnerable to harassment and intimidation.

Clustering of Sex Offenders I partnered with community members in Alamitos Beach to fight the State's efforts to cluster as many as 20 sex offenders in one apartment building by creating an ordinance that limits clustering and worked with our City Attorney to target this cottage industry that had grown among unscrupulous property owners who received money from the state to provide housing for parolees at four to a room with exorbitant rents. And thanks to the activism of Alamitos Beach and the leadership of Long Beach, not to mention a little help from the economy, the California Department of Corrections ended its policy to subsidize sex offenders and reduced clustering by its misguided parole department.

Domestic Violence I have been involved professionally and passionately with domestic violence since 1993, having served as Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Unit in the Los Angeles City Attorney's office. Domestic violence can destroy the fabric of communities by weakening family structures and passing down from generation to generation, dysfunctional and abusive approaches to relationships. In fact, violent juvenile delinquents are four times more likely than other youths to come from homes in which their fathers beat their mothers. (Source: Women's Action Coalition) The damage from domestic violence stretches beyond social structure, affecting school attendance and achievement, workforce productivity and sick time, and healthy pregnancies.

Nearly two years ago, I formed a working group made up of local groups who advocate for victims of domestic violence such as Interval House, Women's Shelter of Long Beach, 1736 Family Crisis Center and SU Casa. In addition, I asked City Prosecutor, Long Beach Police Department and Judge Michael Vicencia to meet with us on a regular basis to discuss the need for a safe and secure space inside the new County courthouse where victims could access multiple services and support in one location. Space in the new courthouse will offer victims, their advocates, and City Prosecutors a safe and trusted place to discuss cases and access ongoing services all in one location.

Community Watch Promotion People commit some pretty awful acts in the name of desperation. Stealing and the resulting physical harm caused to the victim are inexcusable. Invading someone else's residence and taking their family heirlooms or possessions that were earned through hard work cannot be justified, no matter how desperate you are.

Our police do an excellent job of catching these criminals, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

That's why I am partnering with neighborhood and business associations to raise awareness about the Community Watch Program and set a goal of creating new watch areas where there are none while increasing membership in areas where a program already exists. If we coordinate our efforts, I am sure we can reach our goals and protect our community from senseless stealing and violence!

Additional Legislation I also co-authored legislation to limit new retail liquor stores, regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, reduce the number of stray and unhealthy animals on our streets, assist victims of flooding and prohibit smoking around our children in parks.