Sunday Safety Update: 02/21/2016 to 02/27/2016

The map above shows little change from early trends. There are thefts along PCH and Orange heading into the neighborhood and then up. There is a rise in assaults at the east end of the neighborhood, please be very careful as there was a shooting in that area recently.

02/09/2016: LBPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Bradley Johnson says that at about 12:25 a.m. on Feb. 9, officers were dispatched to a shooting in the 2200 block of Spaulding St. and found a man shot. Sgt. Johnson says the victim was uncooperative with police; LBFD transported him to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds. 

There is a trend of auto thefts and property crime, just south of us at the west end of the AOC7 heading north towards the neighborhood. The property crime tends to foreshadow worse things to come, so be cautious around 11th/ 10th between Orange and Gundry. There is also a week trend of auto thefts along Rotary Centennial Park. Auto theft is down here overall. We still have two wheel clubs ready for one Wrigley and one MacArthur Park resident willing to take the Neighborhood Pledge. It's a nice gift for agreeing to keep your neighborhood clean.

Break in the  Alicia Faith Todd Case

I am also grateful to announce there was an arrest made in the shooting of Alicia Faith Todd of Signal Hill. Police say they've arrested a man in connection to the case of a young woman shot dead in an alley in Long Beach last summer. Following an investigation, police arrested Tremaine Lewis, 24, of Long Beach, last Thursday. Police said Lewis was in a domestic relationship with Todd and the two were together on the night of the murder. If you have any information about this case, you're urged to contact Long Beach Police Department homicide detectives at (562) 570-7244.

Take the Neighborhood Pledge

There was also an arrest in the December shooting of North Long Beach resident on 02/22/2016. Keonte Runell Jones, 23, who is also known as “Blue Dawg,” pleaded not guilty Jan. 22 to one count of murder with allegations that he used a handgun and committed the crime in association with a street gang, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He is accused of shooting Roosevelt Newton at Orange Avenue and East Washington Street in Long Beach on Dec. 10.

Washington Neighborhood Shooting

There was another shooting on Thursday in the Washington Neighborhood.Officers were dispatched to the 300 block of West 14th Street at 11:05PM on Thursday, February 25 regarding a possible shooting, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) spokesman Brad Johnson said. “Upon arrival, officers found evidence that a bullet had struck the house but did not enter and no one was injured,” he added. We already attacked the gang element by doing a Go Long Beach Run and reporting all gang related tagging on Cedar, We'll do it again ASAP..

West Division Leadership Forum: Recap

The LBPD held its West Division Leadership Forum yesterday. The topic was primarily auto theft. Auto theft is on the rise. In order to combat it, police recommend a common sense approach to keeping your belongings safe. Keep your car locked, windows rolled up and valuables out of site. The Long Beach PD also recommended that you think carefully about how you define valuables. For someone who is down and out, who sees a car with a window rolled down and a few dimes in the cup holder, that may be enough to spark a crime of opportunity. For more detailed information on keeping your car safe, please read this blog entry.

 

The second lecture was about the mobile apps the police use in crime and crime prevention. Go LBPD, provides "one stop shopping" access to The Long Beach Police Department - information relating to news, crime prevention, alerts, events, videos, and photos, through social media feeds such as Nixle, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and Flickr, along with the ability to submit crime tips, all with the tap of a finger.

The Go Long Beach PH is part of a slew of apps Long Beach Residents can use to work towards a safer, cleaner city. Those other apps include Go Long Beach, Nixle, iWatch, Pulse Point and Crime Reports.

There was also a presentation by the police volunteer unit, a West Division Crime Statistician and a lot of success stories. One success story was of the nosy neighbor who stops a burglary in progress by recognizing what's out of place for her Wrigley Neighborhood. Six District resident Josephine Villasenor also chimed in with a success story where a homeless encampment reported that was selling drugs to minors was closed down within hours of sending in the photos to the LBPD.

The LBPD also generously gave out clubs for car steering wheels. We will be giving those away, but only to someone who takes the Neighborhood Pledge to keep their neighborhood clean and safe. The next West Division Leadership forum will take place n two months at St. Luke's Church. The topic will be gangs.

Neighborhood Expansion: Early Crime Trends for the 6th District. Wrigley. 20th to 21st on Cedar and Chestnut: Theft/ Property Crime. Property crime often precedes something worse. Pacific and Willow. Assault/ Theft. Washington Neighborhood: Auto Theft: Auto theft. Pacific and 16th. MacArthur Park Neighborhood: Auto thefts on PCH from Cherry to MLK. Also violent crime matches up with earlier trends on Junipero and Spaulding.

Drop of Points: The ACO7's Next Literacy Fair

Spread the GIFT of LITERACY! We're going strong in our #aoc7bookdrive and we'd love you to be part of this! #readtolead #bookstokids #eachoneteachone There's 4 book drop off locations for your convenience.

Lincoln Elementary
1175 E. 11th Street

Neighborhood Resource Center
100 Broadway, Ste. 550

The Center Long Beach
2701 E. 4th Street

Mark Twain Neighborhood Library
1401 E. Anaheim Street

Thank you in advance!

Tonight we attended the West Division Leadership Forum. The topic was auto theft. LBPD is giving away the club for the wheel. Both the MacArthur Park Community Association & the Wrigley Community Neighborhood Group​ will be giving away one of the two you see in the picture soon. Not sure how yet, but I am leaning to giving it to someone willing to take the pledge to keep the neighborhood safe and clean. 

Follow this link for details:  
http://macarthurparklbc.blogspot.com/2015/04/macarthur-park-neighborhood-pledge.html

West Division Leadership Forum: Car Theft/ Mobile Apps/ Crime Analysis/ Success Stories

WE Labs: Pitch a Solution for Homelessness

On Tuesday. Josephine Villaseñor and I attended WE Lab's event Pitch A Solution for Homelessness. What stood out about the meeting, was it wasn't a group of residents complaining about the problem, it was concerned citizens actually attempting to pitch solutions to it. 

Homelessness is a growing problem in Long Beach. The Police Department has two Quality of Life Officers that work in tandem with Health and Human Services and are dedicated to helping the homeless get back on their feet and find shelter. However, for the growing homeless population a better solution is needed. 

Here were some of the pitches that were made. 

The ideas pitched included the need for a central tree of information, that would branch out from a single number such as 211. 211 LA County, a 501(c)3 organization, is one of the largest and most effective resource lines in the nation providing access to comprehensive social services and disaster support for L.A. County residents.

A second idea was the use of port containers in the creation of housing campuses for the homeless. Shipping container homes were okayed for the Wrigley area in 2011. You can also find one at the intersection of Ocean and Temple. Each shelter would be called a campus. Each campus would serve a specific need. For instance, one campus may be devoted to drug recovery. One campus might be reserved for families getting back on their feet. 

The containers are strong enough to resist weathering. They could also be easily stacked. Each campus could be built for around $30 a square foot, before factoring in landscaping, health services and security. There would be some challenges in finding suitable land that was hooked up to the sewer system. There are currently a lot of these crates at the port going to waste. In many cases  they are just given away.

Additional ideas included an app that would allow residents to donate their recycle goods as a source of funding for homeless related issues. The idea pitched through the organization Ashla and Monday Night Mission would create a map of those residents who agreed to donate their recyclables which would then be picked up by the homeless as a $15 an hour minimum wage job. The obvious issue is thatvtaking those recycle goods, if the idea were to take money out of the city's budget, which will already experience a deficit next year.

The final idea was the creation of a database of shelters that would remove those shelters temporarily from the listing when beds are not available. The website would also allow homeless users to make reservations through the website and screen out those shelters that could not meet their needs. The link above would require shelter buy in before it could be of anyuse. There was an issue with making too much of the shelter's information public, but in the end most in attendance agreed the app would be very beneficial to social workers, police and community service workers trying to find a path off the street

What a prefabricated container house looks like, from the Mojave Desert.

The Big Vision Board

Using the Vision Boards We Love Long Beach provided for the 2nd annual City Wide Breakfast, we wanted to compile a graphic of all the suggestions that various neighborhoods gave more creating more of a community bond between neighbors. The fonts/ colors represent the various neighborhoods that took pictures of their vision boards. Please let us know anything they left out in the comments below.

Sunday Safety Watch: 02/07/2016 to 02/20/2016

Disclaimer: So, first I apologize for how long it's taken to get this up, The Crime Reports Website was down for much of January. I did talk to the director of Media Relations at a public safety meeting and tell our neighborhood resource officer, they weren't aware it wasn't updating. Just a reminder these are trends, and the presence of crime in one area in the past doesn't guarentee it will reappear in that area in the future.

The map above spans two weeks. You will notice all the patterns are weak, hence the pink lines. The darker the arrow, the stronger the trend. First off, not much is happening according to the map in February. It does appear assaults and property crime [graffiti] are on the rise. They seem to weekly trend up from Cherry towards 14th Street and Gundry. Josie and I did a patrol through the neighborhood pretty late into the night, and it was rather quiet.

A Go Long Beach Run through the area showed Gang tagging is up. In response, we hit several areas outside the neighborhood with Go Long Beach. We also used Code Enforcement with businesses that refuse to take the tagging down. - See the Neighborhood Expansion Report Below

There is also a week trend of assorted crimes along Spaulding in the East end of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood of Central Long Beach. There is also a trend of thefts along Alamitos. Bear in mind the construction on Alamitos around Rosa Parks Park gives bad people a place to hide. When walking along Alamitos, please carry a flash light and walk in pairs when possible.

Neighborhood Expansion: Heavy tagging by the East Side Longos, a tagging crew and somebody else. Cedar and Chestnut Streets are the strong hold for the East Side Longos. I was verbally assaulted by a "gang" member when I was taking the pictures, didn't scare me. I stood my ground and he backed off. Also meet Gustavo, his garage has been tagged 6 to 7 times and he repaints it every time, he knows who does it ,talked with the father of the boy but the father didn't care. Attention: The post about the tagging I did, the GO Long Beach App had most of the tagging cleaned up before 12pm today. I want to thank them for their fast response. So I'm going to try to help him repaint it and talk with the kid and father.- Josephine Villasenor/ Wrigley Community Watch

The police have released a recap of crime stats last year via the website Next Door: Here's a summary. Total Part 1 crime increased 15.9% from 2014; violent crime increased 18.8%; and property crime increased 15.4%. The number of aggravated assaults increased 18.9%; and 17 of the 36 murders in 2015 were gang-related. Reductions were seen in four property crime categories: residential burglary decreased 11%; garage burglary decreased 7.2%; commercial burglary decreased 12.1%; and arson decreased 8.2%.

The West Division Leadership Forum will be held on 02/24/2016. It will again be held at Grant AME Church at 1129 Alamitos Ave, at 6pm. The subject will be preventing auto theft, which we covered in detail here.

Improvements to the MacArthur Park Play Ground

There have been some major alterations to the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Playground. The three new blue and purple structures are larger than the old ones and made of sturdier metal. The old ones were a weak type of plastic. 

There is a newer, larger slide. Much nicer swings. And the "monkey bars," have a little less of a kindergarten feel to them. I was able to check the restrooms, and I did notice they were significantly cleaner, with no tagging. There are also concrete islands within the new play ground to help keep it clean.

The following comes from sources inside the park that any reasonable person would expect to be accurate. Because the office of Dee Andrews is disputing it, I am asking for all official documents to show exactly where all the funding from the park renovation came from. Send that info to shaynem@hotmail.com: From a critical stand point, we were told by sources close to the park this renovation came from a $500,000 grant from the state. The community was also told the City and District Six pledged no money, so please hold off on giving credit to our City Council with accomplishing this, it happened in spite of a lack of City support, and was used as an excuse for the cancellation of the Cambodia Town Night Market.

MacArthur Park: Go Long Beach Tracker 02/21/2016

There was a Go Long Beach Run through all of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood this morning.It found ten incidence of tagging/ nine were gang related. It found 14 incidents of of illegal dumping.There was also one street sign that should be replaced as well as a recommendation for an additional stop sign at Gardenia and 15th Street.

Two businesses were coded for failure to remove gang tagging.

The most important clear trend is that gang tagging is way up. Report it as soon as you see it.

This included the east end of the neighborhood. Dumping still clusters on Gaviota north of 17th. There is also a trend of dumping along Stanton north of 15th. Tagging trends up Walnut/ and Gaviota. There is also a newer trend of tagging and dumping along 17th Street between Walnut and Rose.

Eyes should be kept on Walnut/ Gaviota/ Stanton/ 17th Street and Alamitos based on what is seen here.

Neighborhood Expansion Run: Through Wrigley/ Washington

Here's what we found: Heavy gang tagging between 14th and 15th on Cedar/ other side of Washington Middle. All reported for removal. Not much dumping in central Wrigley, but there was an alarming number of what looked like Blue Crosses or Cross Hairs at Chestnut and Hill. They were on a mailbox/ street sweeping sign and a tree. All reported for removal, as was a dumped fridge in Cedar Heights/ Wrigley.

MacArthur Park's 1st City Wide Breakfast: Updated

Thank you to We Love Long Beach for the kind donations, the neighbors who came out, Wrigley Community Neighborhood Groupp for the help organizing and Tania Morales for the additional support in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood's first City Wide Breakfast.

It's hard to read but hear were the suggestions: 

• A neighborhood grocery store
• Shuttles for seniors - People with no cars
• More neighborhood events
• Speed bumps for cars turning off PCH
• Neighborhood cleaning
• Neighborhood watch
• Game day 
• Board game pot lucks 
• Neighborhood Olympics.

Go Long Beach Run 02/08/2016

A Go Long Beach Run today found 14 separate incidents of tagging and 14 incidents of dumping. Of the 14 taggings, ten were gang related and four were probably not. The gang related tagging clusters north of Gaviota and 15th street. Look for the yellow circle on the map. The dumping in that same area is also very serve. There is also a trend of dumping/ minor tagging that begins at Gaviota and Anaheim and then travels North West to 17th and Orange. There is a similar trend following Alamitos and 17th Street South.

Keep an eye on Gaviota/ Rose/ Gardenia where most of the tagging starts. This time, keep your eyes peeled north of 15th Street. Also keep an eye on the encampment outside the CVS at Ester and Orange, it has grown ridiculously large. The furniture store there was reported to Go Long beach for pick up. You can view the Google Map that saves this information here:  

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en_US&app=mp&mid=z-3IaZ6r2iPM.k5__YcbLgrRE

The GO Long Beach app is designed to provide Long Beach, CA residents, businesses, and visitors the opportunity to access City Hall, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere. You will be able to quickly submit service requests for issues such as graffiti, potholes and sign damage. iPhone and Android device users can simply open the App, select an issue, take a picture, and tap submit - the App knows the exact location and sends the issue directly to city staff. You will also be able to track the status of your requests through your mobile device. So far our neighborhood has used this app, 876 times.

 We will get the East end of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood and make a run through AOC7 next. #SupportJosephine

City Wide Breakfast Events Page: 02/20/2016: 9AM

Here's the Events Page for the MacArthur Park Neighborhood City Wide Breakfast. If you would like to attend please RSVP through shaynem@hotmail.com?Subject=Breakfast. There is an attitudinal Events Page on Next Door.

In an effort to better enable and encourage Long Beach residents to strengthen their communities, We Love Long Beach, a local nonprofit organization, is hosting this third event to help neighbors CityWideBreakfast1build positive, long lasting relationships for the ultimate goal of creating a safer and healthier neighborhood environment. 

This year's City Wide Breakfast in MacArthur Park will be held at my house, the neighborhood is invited, but please RSVP through the email address above, I believe this will be the first event hosted through We Love Long Beach in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood. The Event is made possible through an organization called We Love Long Beach.

This will be the Neighborhood's 1st Event that is not a Neighborhood Clean Up.

West Division Leadership Forum: 02/24/2016: 6pm

Please join Commander Robert Smith and his staff for this informative meeting on Wednesday February 24, 2016 at 6:00pm. at 1129 Alamitos. We will be having an Auto Theft Detective give a presentation as well as Administrator Karen Owens will be giving a presentation on the Community Engagement Division.