Long Beach Police Department Commander Rudy Komisza (top right) addresses Cal. Heights residents at a neighborhood meeting on May 2 regarding crime-prevention strategies after recent gun violence on Wardlow Road.” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”off” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”none”] By: Anita W. Harris
Staff Writer
At a California Heights Neighborhood Association meeting on May 2, Long Beach Police Department Commander Rudy Komisza, along with Sergeant Tim Olson, discussed the April 8 drive-by shooting near a bar on Wardlow Road, as well as crime-prevention strategies that residents might consider.
Bar problems
Komisza began with an overview of North Division police procedures regarding area bars, explaining that there are three on Wardlow Road supported by the City as part of revitalization and economic development, but he acknowledged potential problems related to their proximity to the 405 Freeway and traffic from neighboring areas.
“The bottom line is, how do we allow businesses to [flourish] while respecting the local community,” he said. “It’s a constant work-in-progress.”
Komisza explained that police work with bars to minimize potential problems.
“The main thing [is] making sure the owners and managers of each bar open lines of communication with one another so that if one person goes to a bar and if they’re refused entry for some particular reason, that person doesn’t have an opportunity to [!] gain entry at another location,” he said.
Robert Molina, the owner of Roxanne’s Cocktail Lounge on Wardlow near where the April 8 shooting took place, also attended the meeting and affirmed that communication was key.
“We have a strict dress code [and] 32 cameras in place,” he said. “The key point [is] to come together and make sure the ‘wrong’ people stay out of the area.”
Though Molina acknowledged that it was sometimes difficult to enforce such policies among the local businesses, he affirmed his commitment.
“It affects us as well as you,” he said. “We’ve invested a lot.”
Komisza also acknowledged that mitigating such problems is a work-in-progress. “I have reached out to my partners in Signal Hill,” he said. “We are focusing on some stepped-up enforcement on Wardlow, in particular during closing times.”
Police also work with bar owners and managers if any issues continue, Komisza said.
“There’s an administrative process in the city to pay attention to a bar when needed,” he said.
Residents at the meeting also expressed concerns about motorcycle noise and speeding around bar closing times.
Komisza acknowledged the frustration of such noise. “That has been articulated and expressed to the business managers,” he said. “We’re introducing some resources to monitor some of the nuisance activity.”
He stated that businesses are motivated to minimize problems.
“Police attention impacts businesses economically,” Komisza said. “So there’s a lot of leverage there.”
Crime concerns
In response to a resident’s question on an apparent increase in the area homeless population, Komisza stated that police defer to the Department of Health and Human Services or the Veterans Administration if called about homelessness so that social services can reach out.
“We have a significant homeless population in Long Beach,” he said. “It’s not a public-safety issue because homelessness is not a crime. If you’re not observing criminal behavior, it’s really not a public-safety matter.”
However, as with any such activity, Komisza encouraged residents to call police if they can articulate specific criminal behavior.
In terms of general crime statistics affecting the North Division, Komisza explained that while gun crime is down, aggravated assault is increasing.
“Even though we are experiencing a decrease in gun crimes year-to-date, [!] aggravated assaults are up,” he said, including domestic violence in that statistic.
Overall, Komisza said, while there is a slight increase in a number of crime categories, it is not out of control.
“Is it [cause] for panic?” he asked. “Absolutely not. Three years in a row, we’re seeing decreases in residential [burglaries]. We’re still seeing decreases in garage burglaries. We’re seeing decreases in assault with a deadly weapon and gun crimes.”
Komisza did state, however, that auto and mail theft have increased, but that resident vigilance helps. “It’s preventable through collaborative partnerships and crime prevention,” he said.
In response to questions about reporting crimes, Komisza encouraged residents to be specific when they call police. He also advised residents not to put themselves in harm’s way in confronting a crime-in-progress.
Komisza also assured residents that police patrols cover the area but in a pattern that makes their activity hard to detect by potential criminals.
He further noted that while criminals are monitored once they leave incarceration, there are a lot more criminals released due to recent legislation and some narcotics activity becoming decriminalized, as well as police staffing challenges.
Citizen action
Komisza thus encouraged residents to be proactive and collaborative in preventing crime.
“Citizen empowerment [!] is absolutely incumbent [upon] a collaboration [between] police and the community,” Komisza said. “All of you are a very big partner in fighting crimes of opportunity such as auto burglary, mail theft, residential burglary [and] auto theft.”
Regarding mail theft, the commander said collaboration and communication are key.
“Tough times [!] require some behavioral changes and some inconveniences,” he said. “Open lines of communication with your fellow neighbors. Reach out to the Long Beach Police Department so we can help you facilitate a community-watch program and offer crime-prevention tips. Make arrangements with somebody on your block if you know a package is being delivered to your front porch.”
Komisza further suggested picking up packages at the post office or other delivery service rather than having them left on the front porch.
“Just take that extra drive and go pick it up,” he said. “It’s unbelievable how small behavioral changes have a larger impact on property crime altogether.”
Regarding auto burglary, Komisza stated that data is analyzed on a weekly basis, showing that most such crime is caused by valuables left on seats, such as cell phones, laptops, clothing, gym bags, golf clubs and change left in a car’s center console.
“Don’t leave personal items in your car,” he said. “You certainly increase your chances of being a victim of a crime of opportunity. Help us out.”
He also advised anti-theft devices for autos parked on public streets, such as clubs that lock the steering wheel. “They add an element of deterrence,” he said. “A lot of crooks look for the least path of resistance.”
Answering a resident’s concern about living adjacent to an alley, Komisza advised lighting and good-quality locks on property adjacent to the alley, as well as opening lines of communication with neighbors who share it.
“Lights are great,” he said. “Motion detectors are excellent.”
Security cameras are another deterrent endorsed by Komisza and Olson.
“We welcome any type of mechanism to mitigate a crime of opportunity,” Komisza said.
Olson added that the quality of the camera makes a difference.
“The higher resolution you can get makes it way better for us,” he said. “[If images] are fairly grainy, they don’t help us.”
He further advised placing cameras inside the home as well as outside.
“Put them in a spot where you think the person would come in and be seen,” Olson said. “Like by your front entry or a stairwell so you get a good picture of them looking up.”
In Komisza’s overall view, residential crime exists but can be minimized. “I wish [!] I could say [that] we will never have a bike stolen or a home broken into or a car broken into,” Komisza said. “But [!] that’s really not reality. We do our best job from a collaborative partnership to mitigate and we go from there.”
To coordinate a community watch program in a Long Beach North Division area, contact LBPD neighborhood services specialist Erika Moreno at (562) 570-9825 or lbpdnorth@longbeach.gov.
