School Police to Patrol Hot Zones Near LA Schools

School police officers in Los Angeles are planning to increase patrols near schools in response to a surge in violent crimes that have injured children.

Los Angeles School Police Department officials distributed an internal document that said all sworn officers should be in full uniform and ready to be deployed in the field until further notice. The new safety measures are expected to go into effect Tuesday.

"We gotta keep the kids out of the stuff that's going on in the neighborhood," said Andre Knox, parent of an LAUSD student.

The increase in school officers is intended to help bolster the Los Angeles Police Department's efforts to patrol and secure areas where children frequent. Officers will be in areas such as bus stops and routes where children routinely walk.

"We always gotta look out, behind our back, in case something happens," said Anthony Salceda, a 10th grade student in one of the so-called hot zones.

On Tuesday when patrols were set to kick off, Maya Angelou High School in South LA went on lockdown after reports of a shooting.

Sgt. German Hurtado of LAPD's Newton Division however said that no victims, suspects or weapons were found. 

The extra security measures also come after three children were wounded last week while standing at a taco stand in South Los Angeles. Parents and community members said they need more programs and opportunities to keep children off of streets.

"If you see danger all the time and see these things every day, it messes with your mind and you can't function at school," Steven Washington, parent of a student, said.

School police officials said the focus of the extra patrols will be communities where a sudden and sharp increase of violent crime, assault with a deadly weapon, and homicides have occurred and involved local students.

South Los Angeles residents said they welcome the increase in police presence to help keep children safe.

LAUSD Police Chief Steven Zipperman showed NBC4 the hot zones: essentially all South LA schools are in the crosshairs, as well as areas south of the 10 Freeway, north of the 105 Freeway, and between Normandie Avenue and Alameda Street.

NBC4's Toni Guinyard and Gadi Schwartz contributed to this story.

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