The West Hollywood City Council decided on Monday to stop funding the sheriff’s office, despite the fact that crime during the first part of this spring increased by 137 percent compared to the same time last year.
The plan would eliminate four sheriff’s deputies from the present force of about 60.
Under a program dubbed Block By Block, money saved by reducing the manpower will be utilized to pay for unarmed “security ambassadors.”
The council decided to increase its contribution by $14,000 to $50,000 for a Russian arts festival while cutting the policing budget.
Lauren Meister, mayor of West Hollywood and a member of the council who voted against the plan, called it illogical, noting that the Los Angeles enclave is afflicted by a rising tide of violence.
‘I’m not going to vote for the budget if we cut the sheriff’s (funds),’ Meister said, according to local news site WeHoville.com.
‘First of all, nobody has the gun problem that we have in this country. You can’t expect us to have a public safety team where most of the people aren’t armed in order to defend our citizens.’
West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station polices the City of West Hollywood and the unincorporated communities of Franklin Canyon, Universal City – which includes Universal Theme Park, Studios, and Citywalk – and the Federal Enclave in West Los Angeles.
Fellow councilman John M. Erickson, voted with her to oppose the plan.
‘Community safety is our number one concern,’ he told Fox News.
‘When I’ve heard from countless residents about how they want to feel safer, that involves comprehensive planning and something that is not just drawn out over a decision.’
The proposal was passed, three votes to their two.
Sepi Shyne, who proposed the plan, said the sheriffs cost too much – and the Block by Block program represented more ‘bang for the buck.’
‘What we know now is our residents want foot patrols,’ said Shyne.
‘We need to be fiscally responsible.’
Councilors Lindsey Horvath (left) and John D’Amico (right) voted with Shyne to defund
Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne was for and John Erickson was against
‘And we have all talked for two years. Reimagining policing means reallocating funding. You can’t just say it without actually doing it. Period.’
John D’Amico, another councilor who voted in favor of Shyne’s plan, emphasized that it will see more people patrolling the street, through the Block by Block plan.
‘In my mind, this is an increase of safety services with 60 additional eyes on the street working directly with the residents and the sheriff and code compliance and our social services providers – and two fewer deputies this fall,’ he told Fox News in a statement.
The first two deputies will leave in the fall. Three more will be let go over the course of the year, but there will only be a four-deputy workforce decrease as a result of the hiring of a new deputy for the Entertainment Policing division.
According to WeHoville.com, residents and business owners from all around the city have expressed their grave concerns about cutting the sheriff’s budget during a crime wave and a time of general unease over the past few months.
After the massacre in Oslo during Pride, which is known for its vibrant LGBT community, people all throughout the country were on edge.
In addition, Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion, which was released on Friday along with the Roe v. Wade decision, called for the repeal of other civil rights as well as lesbian marriage.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) reports that in February of the prior year, crime in West Hollywood jumped by 137 percent.
In February 2022, there were 250 or more “Part One” crimes reported, including murder, rape, burglary, severe assault, arson, and human trafficking.
105 of these incidents, according to KTLA, were noted in February 2021.
Since LASD started keeping track of these information, this quantity also represents the greatest monthly total of offenses that are classed as “Part One.”
Only one week after Captain Bill Moulder was appointed to lead the West Hollywood office, it was decided to stop funding the sheriffs.
On June 16, Moulder told Beverly Press he planned to focus on preventing the most common crimes in the district – property offenses and assaults.
‘Because the things driving our numbers are theft-type crimes, that has and will continue to be our biggest focus,’ he said at the time.
‘Particularly crimes occurring in our nightlife establishments, like pickpocketing, that are occurring inside the establishments and outside on the streets.
‘Street robberies will be a focus as well. Violent crime is always a concern, and we will work to address that.’
Moulder said statistics show nearly one-third of street robberies involve people who are unhoused, so he plans to increase outreach work, in collaboration with the city, to address the issue.
‘It’s important to do outreach, and I think we can really make a difference in preventing crime,’ he said.
‘I have had a lot of contact with the community, our city itself and the City Council, and have developed a great working relationship. I plan to continue that work. It’s an honor to serve in this capacity.’
He has not commented on their Monday night vote.
The concept of ‘defunding the police’ became popular in the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a white policeman in Minneapolis.
Yet in November 2021, voters in the city resoundingly rejected a proposal to reinvent policing.
Approximately 56 percent of voters rejected a ballot question that would have removed the Minneapolis Police Department from the city charter and replaced it with a ‘public-health oriented’ Department of Public Safety.
Joe Biden and the ACLU have spoken out against defund movements, with Biden insisting there should be more funding for police.
‘The answer is not to defund the police,’ Biden said, on a visit to the NYPD earlier this year.
‘It is to give you the tools and training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors and [the] community needs you.
‘It’s time to fund community policing to protect and serve the community.’
And Eric Adams was elected as mayor of New York City in part because he vowed to push back against defunding the police, and promised reform without financial cuts.
Congressman Ritchie Torres, who represents New York, said in February: ‘The defund police movement is dead in New York City — and good riddance.
‘And any elected official who’s advocating for the abolition and/or even the defunding of police is out of touch with reality and should not be taken seriously.’