Amid concerns about crime among residents, the city of West Hollywood will add sheriff’s department staff.
The City Council voted to add two public information/community liaison positions, one entertainment policing sergeant and one sworn deputy. Only two of the four hires will be armed.
The council’s decision to add to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department staff comes nearly a year after they voted to decrease the number of deputies in the city and increase the number of block-by-block unarmed security ambassadors.
“Everyone got something for what they wanted last night. People that wanted deputies back got some deputies back. People that really love our block-by-block program, I consider myself one of those individuals, continue to see those service levels,” Mayor Pro Tempore John Erickson said.
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Some called for more law enforcement after the number of homicides, robberies, and burglaries increased in West Hollywood last year.
Crime is down overall this year, but in April, a group of robbers armed with an assault-style rifle stole cash from a group outside La Boheme Restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Alan Strasburg has lived in the city for more than three decades. He told NBC4 that he no longer leaves his house after dark or goes on early morning walks. He thinks adding to the sheriff’s staff is progress, but he still wants more deputies.
The addition of the four sheriff’s deputy staffer is “a step in the right direction,” Strasburg said.
“I think the security ambassadors or ambassadors have a role in the city. I don’t think they’re a replacement for the deterrent effect of LASD in West Hollywood,” he added.
City leaders say the conversation around public safety will continue.
“Public safety is the number one thing that we talk about,” Erickson said.
