The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a motion calling for additional funds for youth programming and security measures at parks in the 14th District.
The council voted 13-0 to approve the motion with council members Eunisses Hernandez and Heather Hutt absent during the vote. The council instructed to appropriate $750,000 for the purpose of enhancing public safety and engaging youth at several parks, including but not limited to the Evergreen Recreation Center, Wabash Recreation Center and Pecan Recreation Center.
“The recent uptick in violence represents a clear signal that we have to double our efforts to invest more in our neighborhoods and our youth,” de León said in a statement. “That’s precisely what I intend to do with this funding — expand opportunities and programs at more parks for more young people.”
According to de León, these parks will be designated as CLASS Parks within the city. The CLASS Parks programs operates 37 teen club sites within the city’s 184 recreation centers, offering supervised after-school and weekend programs for youth ages 11-17.
De León introduced the motion earlier this month in response to an increase in homicides in the community of Boyle Heights.
“Tragically, a number of these murders have occurred at our city’s recreation centers. The spaces that are intended to provide a safe place for Angelenos, particularly youth, to gather have instead become the sites of devastating violence,” de León’s motion reads.
In August, two teenagers were shot and died at the Evergreen Recreation Center in Boyle Heights, according to de León’s motion. Community members also reported an increase in other types of crimes and expressed general safety concerns at Evergreen as well as the Wabash Recreation Center and Pecan Recreation Center.
Community members requested an increase in programming for youth, and security to “hopefully restore a sense of safety for young people in Boyle Heights and their families,” the motion reads.
The councilman said although overall crime is down across the city, there are areas in which communities experienced a rise in violence.
During Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the city continues to see a reduction in violent crime of about 6.7% in all categories of violent crime. However, just this month there was an increase of 15 additional shooting victims compared to last year.
Moore noted the three areas where shootings are occurring, including the Harbor Area, and the Topanga and Mission Hills areas in the San Fernando Valley.
“Underlying influence of this, we do believe to be heavily influenced by gang and street violence. Our investigators are working to identify those responsible and we have seen a slowdown, a reduction, in the Harbor Area,” Moore said.
Year-to-date, LAPD reports 163 fewer shooting victims compared to last year, representing a 15.6% reduction. The department stands at a total of 25 officer-involved shootings, or OIS, year-to-date while the same period last year was 28 OIS.
LAPD reports a total of 13 fatalities this year versus 13 fatalities last year.
The department’s four-year average of officer-involved shootings stands at 23 OIS, and the four-year average for fatalities is under 10, according to Moore.