Los Angeles’ Westside neighborhoods may see more law enforcement presence through a tougher-on-crime approach and local investments.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents District 11, including Venice, Mar Vista, Pacific Palisades, Westchester and Playa del Rey, said Monday that she hopes to use some $200,000 of the district’s own discretionary funds to have additional LAPD officers to patrol the area as part of her "A Safer 11 for a Better 11" initiative.
“The party is over. The failed social experiment is over,” Park said during a news conference, standing next to new LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and new LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman while alluding to denounce former DA George Gascón's policies, which included the end of cash bail and sentencing enhancements.
“For far too long, we've seen a troubling tolerance for criminal behavior that has left residents feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods and even in their own homes. But that stops now," she said.
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Park, who will introduce a package of public safety proposals at the city council this week, said she wants to team up with the city’s park rangers for the first time to patrol Venice Beach, which has been plagued with assaults and other crimes in recent years, once a week, starting in January 2025.
“Venice Beach is Los Angeles' most visited public park as well as our city's most filmed venue for movies, television and commercials,” Park explained. “It absolutely makes sense that we invest in keeping that public space safe and secure.”
Park also said under the package of proposals, the Westside neighborhood would get near 50 automated license plate readers in effort to stop street racing and street takeovers while supporting the LAPD in recovering stolen vehicles.
“These advanced cameras capture and process license plate information in real time, allowing us to identify vehicles tied to crimes or to locate missing persons quickly,” LAPD Chief McDonnell said, explaining there are already 110 fixed automated license plate raiders across the city while 1,500 police cars are equipped with the same devices.
The councilmember also said the district seeks approval from the council to spend $100,000 of the district’s discretionary funding to trim trees and enhance visibility as part of crime prevention and public safety efforts.
Park, who was elected in 2022 after campaigning on the promise of cleaning up homeless encampments in the West LA neighborhoods, gained more allies after Hochman beat out George Gascón by a large margin with a “hard middle” approach before taking office this month.
But it’s not clear whether her proposals would face resistance as the city council now has four progressive councilmembers with the election of Isabel Jurado.
