LOS ANGELES, CA – Months after the news broke that the LAPD was to get their budget cut by up to $150 million, we’re now able to get a better idea of what the cut in funding is going to affect more specifically within the department.
Reportedly several units – including robbery and homicide – are going to be among sects impacted within the LAPD.
The Los Angeles Police Department is set to stop responding to traffic collisions and downsize its robbery and homicide division as part of a series of moves aimed to address new budgetary challenges https://t.co/Dr5wq9LrFU
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) November 7, 2020
Back in June of this year, we at Law Enforcement Today reported on the controversial decision reached by the Los Angeles City Council that aimed at cutting the LAPD budget by up to $150 million.
The move was of course carried out in an effort to appease the protestors clamoring about defunding the police.
So, while little can be done to rectify the act of somewhat defunding the LAPD, there were looming questions about what this defunding would actually look like.
Reports indicate that the LAPD will be engaging in a “broad reorganization aimed at preserving patrol and community engagement functions.” One aspect in this reorganizing is that officers will no longer be responding to minor traffic collisions.
In the event that someone is the victim of a misdemeanor hit-and-run, victims will be encouraged to instead file a police report online.
Also, station desks will no longer be staffed on the weekends and the Metropolitan Division, air support, robbery, homicide, gang and narcotics units are going to have some sort of cuts.
BLM takeover complete here.
Murder rate is up 25% in LA, so naturally @LAPD is defunding itself.
After all, the best way to stop murder is to stop arresting murderers!https://t.co/LANJXQZdwi
— Peachy Keenan, Gulag VIP ⚔️ 🇱🇷 (@KeenanPeachy) November 8, 2020
The LAPD are also expected to cut 350 sworn officers from the force by April of 2022, which those positions cut aren’t going to stem from people being fired outright.
Instead, the LAPD will simply close out a position once someone leaves the force ort retires – essentially just not rehiring for the void left when someone leaves the LAPD.
Generally speaking, it’s appears the reduction in force is trying to be accomplished in a manner that makes the best out of a bad situation.
Other initiatives stressed in the defunding endeavor is a greater focus on officers being on patrol more than anything – thus having the opportunity to maintain visibility within the communities officers serve.
But what’s most concerning with this defunding to the LAPD is skyrocketing crime within the area.
Here’s our report from October that detailed some of the increases in crime in Los Angeles.
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LOS ANGELES, CA – Officials within South Los Angeles have acknowledged the area has experienced an uptick in homicides during a news conference on October 2nd. Los Angeles Police Chief Moore addressed these concerns, noting the pattern of increase began to surface only a few months ago.
South L.A. has experienced an uptick in violent crime this year that has only accelerated in recent months, officials say https://t.co/XhLoWgmgXu
— KTLA (@KTLA) October 2, 2020
Additionally, the Chief said that when compared to 2019, South Los Angeles has experienced 39 more murders than during the same period last year. There have been a total of 101 more shooting victims as well. Just in the five days prior to the October 2nd press conference, there were 19 victims shot, 4 were murdered and 11 had been shot at.
Chief Moore stated that he hasn’t seen this much violence within the city in years:
“This is a pace of shooting and violence that we’ve not seen in years. And it has grown an effort that began, or in issues that we saw beginning in June and July, and now has continued to accelerate.”
Deputy Chief Regina Scott of the LAPD’s South Bureau dove into the numbers, explaining how significant this rate of violence is within South Los Angeles. South L.A. accounts for just 12% of the entire city of Los Angeles, yet but is responsible for 39% of the city’s murders, 45% of the shootings and 47% of the total victims shot citywide.
L.A. City Councilmember Joe Buscaino described a “bad recipe” as being part and parcel in these elevated number of shootings and murders:
“Kids are out of school, guns are out in the streets, fewer police officers on the streets is a recipe for a spike in crime.”
Buscaino also addressed that this violence is impacting the youth of the community, making reference to the facts that 40 South L.A. shootings victims were under the age of 18, with nine of those victims being under 10-years-old:
“We have an issue. Our babies are getting shot at, our kids are getting killed in Los Angeles.”
Deputy Chief Scott also noted that these aren’t just cases of miscreants shooting at each other, many of these shootings and killings are harming innocent people:
“It’s not just the gang members shooting each other, it’s the innocent victims.”
Maybe letting all those people out of jail wasn’t such a good idea?
— Clinton Kildepstein (@WasZappa) October 2, 2020
Chief Moore dove into one of these very cases where a 20-year-old man with aspirations of becoming a police officer, was ruthlessly gunned down while sitting inside of his vehicle.
What makes this travesty even more heart wrenching, is that investigators on the case have reason to believe that the murder was a case of mistaken identity.
While the LAPD’s South Bureau has enacted 2,397 total arrests this year and have confiscated roughly 1,300 weapons in that same timeframe – Chief Moore said that this isn’t a problem that the police can simply “arrest our way out of”.
However, Chief Moore seems to be optimistic about the work that has been done thus far by the LAPD’s gang intervention specialists, which consists of “outreach ambassadors” that aim to quell the likes of gang-related violence and shootings.
The chief also extended thanks to the City Council in helping enable that project:
“I’m also encouraged by the promise and the commitment by our council to deepen and strengthen that, because we need calmer voices in the street today.”
Liberal run city. What did you expect? Letting hardened criminals out because of Covid. Sanctuary city for illegal aliens. A Mayor who calls our police “killers”. Enjoy!
— Lex_USAProudChump4Trump (@Lex_491) October 3, 2020
Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson had noted that there are intentions to further enable said program involving the gang intervention specialists, explaining that since the police cannot be everywhere at once – it’s “up to” the community to see how to stop this violence:
“Our call to action is, we need everyone involved. LAPD cannot be on every street corner. LAPD cannot be in front of your house 24/7. It’s up to us as a community.”
The question is whether the malefactors behind these violent acts heard that “call to action” and if they intend to heed the message. That can only be determined in the coming months.
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