Bike patrol officers from the Long Beach Police Department’s (LBPD) East Division have relocated to the 2nd District Field Office, according to a press release from 2nd District Councilmember Jeannine Pearce.
Two bike patrols have also been added to Bixby Park and nearby areas, Pearce’s office said.
In an email to the Signal Tribune, Arantxa Chavarria of the LBPD said that there are now “approximately four, two-officer shifts per week during day time hours on different days.
“However, the bicycle patrols are not exclusive to Bixby Park. They will be patrolling the areas of Bixby Park, Belmont Shore, Orizaba Park, Bluff Park and surrounding areas.”
Pearce’s office said the councilmember has been pushing since 2016 to have “more police presence to help with the crime in the park and surrounding area.”
“The incidents at Bixby Park are mainly quality-of-life related, such as illegal camping, drinking in public, and/or smoking in the park,” Chavarria said.
LBPD bicycle patrols are funded through House Bill 1045–– known as the Neighborhood Safe Streets bill, which passed in 2013–– and each division receives a portion of the funding to enable their respective commanders to add more officers to areas where they’ve noticed problems Chavarria said.
