Author: Kelsey Longmuir
Recent statistics have shown that crime in Eagle Rock and Northeast Los Angeles has begun to steadily decline.
Reputed “gang capital of America,” Los Angeles is home to 1,000 gangs and an estimated 88,000 gang members who engage in a variety of crimes ranging from minor vandalism to narcotic sales and homicides according to Reuters.
Although 56 percent of murders in L.A. are attributed to gangs (According to the 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment), as well as a large percentage of neighborhood crime, it is difficult to prove that these gangs are accountable for such offenses.
In comparison to previous years, the 2008 local crime rate statistics (available online at Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Northeast and Occidental Web sites) reports a decline in most crimes, although burglaries remain on the rise.
Two Occidental students were mugged approximately one week ago at the Jack-in-the-Box on Eagle Rock Boulevard.
“Six kids came out and asked us to empty our pockets and bags and left with my watch and a couple credit cards. To me they seemed like kids not much older than seniors in high school who just thought they could get a full tank of gas out of two easy targets,” Lewis Crary (junior) said.
Campus Safety Director Hollis Nieto stated that burglaries are the most common form of violence that students at Occidental will come across and gave some words of advice as to how to prevent these occurrences.
“The most prevalent crime in the Northeast, and the crime students are most vulnerable to, is burglary and theft, especially involving motor vehicles. And here’s how to prevent it: Don’t leave anything of value in clear view,” Nieto said.
Due to such high crime rates, the city of Los Angeles has taken steps toward making its communities safer places to live. On Sept. 7, Guillermo Cespedes was chosen to oversee the implementation of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s gang-prevention program.
For the past two years Cespedes has contributed to the Summer Night Lights program, the goal of which is to reduce violence by keeping the lights on until midnight at parks in crime-ridden areas.
Prior to receiving this title, Cespedes spent decades improving family programs and community agencies in Connecticut – work he stated that he would like to continue in L.A.
In addition to Mayor Villaraigosa’s anti-gang campaign, the LAPD, specifically the Northeast division, is working with Campus Safety to keep crime rates down. In the event of a serious crime on or near campus, Campus Safety will notify all students via email.
This “timely alert” contains the location and general information about what happened in order to warn students and give them the knowledge needed to avoid any harmful situations.
If any crime takes place off-campus, yet still within the escort zone (which extends to Ave. 50, York Boulrvard and Corliss Street in the Eagle Rock area), Campus Safety will directly notify LAPD and work in close association with them.
“Every day when I walk to class, I always see Campus Safety drive by. And at the end of the day when I’m walking back from my last class, I see them again. I feel like they keep a good watch over the campus,” Uriah Johnson (first-year) said.
For more information on crime statistics in Los Angeles visit lapdonline.org.
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