(RepublicanDaily.org) – A crime surge in West Hollywood has led to the police-opposed city seeking support from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Fox News reported on May 17. The city council of West Hollywood voted 4-0, with one council member abstaining from the vote, to bring in four members of LASD, with the possibility of adding more, after the city’s former vote to cut police staffing did not produce results. Reportedly, LASD officers are being called in over growing crime concerns in the area “less than one year” after West Hollywood’s city council voted 3-2 to cut police staff.
In 2022, votes to cut police staff motioned in favor of bringing in “unarmed” ambassadors to the area. These ambassadors were supposed to be intended to be peace-keeping security officers. The unarmed ambassadors were part of a so-called “reimagined” approach to policing and the police force, Fox News reported.
A local restaurant manager told the West Hollywood City Council that he had to watch his staff come to work “crying” and not “feeling safe” and, for this reason, he felt that it was his responsibility to appear before the council and request help, Fox News reported. Reportedly, the groups who favored these unarmed ambassadors had said that, in their view, more eyes on the street would improve Hollywood’s overall safety, Fox News reported.
The pressure from residents to rehire deputies following the crime surge became the subject of political analysis and debate. A surge of crime was observed in “unincorporated” parts of Hollywood, CBS News reported. There was reportedly an observable increase in violent crime in these areas compared with last year. There were a total of four total crimes tracked as opposed to three in the area in 2022, CBS News reported.
In addition to the violent crimes, there was a reported surge in robberies in the area. At the time of this report, statistics had been compared through March 31 and found that unincorporated parts of Hollywood saw an increased rate of property crimes, with reported crimes rising from 21 to 48, which was an increase of “129%,” CBS News wrote.
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