The Long Beach City Council wants to invest in community policing by increasing the number of police officers that patrol neighborhoods on bikes and walking beats.
On Tuesday, July 5, the council unanimously directed the city manager to look for ways the city could add structural funding for the Neighborhood Walks program and increase the budget for the city’s bike patrols, including assigning “at least 25 more officers to the program,” though council members said they were flexible on the number.
The Neighborhood Walks program was piloted in the high-crime Washington neighborhood in 2021. Walks also took place in the North Division, East Division and South Division, but only for two-month periods due to funding shortages.
The community policing model has police officers walk through neighborhoods in an attempt to decrease crime and rebuild public trust in police by forming relationships with community members.
Vice Mayor Rex Richardson mentioned general trends showing a decrease in certain types of crime during the times that the Neighborhood Walks program was in place, but was careful not to attribute the decreases directly to the program.
For example, neighborhood walks in the North Division took place last year from June 14 to Aug. 13. Compared to July 2020, in July 2021 the North Division saw a 31% decrease in property crime, but a 9% increase in violent crime.
“We can’t say that was the direct result of that program, but we can point to programs that the residents enjoy, the residents thought were good steps, and look at that data, and look at those best practices and say, ‘Now is the time for us to go in and expand it,’” Richardson said.
Councilmember Al Austin encouraged members to forward the decision to the Budget Oversight Committee to get a better grasp of its fiscal impacts.
“I’m not sure that less than a year’s worth of data is really a number for us to hang our full hats on,” Austin said. “I’d like to get some real-time numbers, and that is one of the questions I’ll be asking during the Budget Oversight Committee: how much has this practice really impacted our committee?”
Though the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget has not been released to the council yet, it’s expected to be presented for discussion at the beginning of July or early August, according to City Manager Tom Modica. The proposed budget has already been submitted to the mayor.
Modica couldn’t comment on the specifics of the budget, but said, “We have a new police chief who is very much in favor of bike units and neighborhood policing.”
“It’s about more than just preventing violence. It’s about advancing peace. In order to do that, it’s about connection. It’s about building relationships. It’s about engagement. And that’s exactly what this Neighborhood Walks program does.”
—Councilmember Suely Saro, member of the Public Safety Committee
He assured council members that the patrol beat—where officers respond to calls to service and emergencies—will not be affected by any changes in the budget. Modica said they could potentially fund the program through overtime or through structural funding.
The Long Beach Police Department is budgeted for 803 officers, but the department is hovering around 740 due to injuries, deployments and leaves of absence, according to Hebeish. Modica said the department will hold three “back-to-back” police academies later this year.
Councilmember Stacy Mungo urged the council to be cognizant of the effects of overtime, such as mental health challenges and the effects of being overworked.
Richardson said residents were “loud and clear” in their desire to see police officers walking or biking their beats.
The proposal received letters of support from the North Long Beach Neighborhood Alliance (a coalition of all 10 neighborhood associations in the area), the Wrigley Neighborhood Association, the president of the Belmont Shore Resident Association, the Fourth Street Business Improvement District, the Bluff Park Neighborhood Association, the AOC7 Neighborhood Association and the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It just seems less threatening [than a cruiser pulling up]. It seems safer and you build good relationships with people who are serving the community, with law enforcement,” Richardson said.
The item passed unanimously.
“It’s about more than just preventing violence. It’s about advancing peace,” said Councilmember Suely Saro, who is a member of the Public Safety Committee. “In order to do that, it’s about connection. It’s about building relationships. It’s about engagement. And that’s exactly what this Neighborhood Walks program does.”
Related Stories:
1 comment
Comments are closed.