A southern California city council has reversed course and moved to hire more police officers amid crime concerns less than a year after moving to cut police staffing in favor of unarmed security ambassadors.Â
The West Hollywood City Council voted 4-0 with one council member abstaining on Monday to add four L.A. Sheriff’s Department positions and possibly more in the future as crime continues to be an issue for residents and business owners in the trendy neighborhood known for its nightlife.Â
“Seeing my staff crying, coming to work and not being able to feel safe in the city, it makes me responsible to be here in front of you and ask you for help,” a local restaurant manager told the council shortly before the Monday vote, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported.
The vote to add more police officers comes roughly a year after the council slashed LASD funding in favor of hiring unarmed “security ambassadors” as part of a “reimagined” approach to policing.Â
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Supporters of the police staffing cut last June, which passed by a margin of 3-2 and cut five LASD positions, argued the unarmed security “ambassadors” would increase public safety with more eyes on the street and would provide a “rebalance of a lopsided system focused on arrests instead of safety.”
Since that vote, crime in West Hollywood has taken a significant toll on residents in the form of a sharp increase in crimes like robbery and burglary as 2022 came to a close.
Members of the community were particularly rattled by an incident last month when the people were robbed at gunpoint, including by one suspect carrying an apparent assault rifle on a busy street at around 9 p.m.
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“I think what we’ve been hearing for the last six…
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