Sunday Safety Watch: 03/13/2016 - 03/19/2016

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 guarantee it will reappear in that area in the future.

Here are this week's trends in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood. 


Keep an eye along PCH. There were auto thefts that trended west and breaking and enterings that trended East. Also keep your eyes open on Alamitos. Though Alamitos may quiet down when the bike lanes are done. There is increased property damage on Peterson. And there was property damage at Gaviota and Anaheim. The encampment that used to be at Walnut and Anaheim is now there in the alley north of Anaheim. Also notice a trend of thefts at Redondo and PCH. Note virtually everything in that circle took place on Friday.

There was a very suspicious van at Cherry Donuts. Read the details here.

There were three recent shootings outside our neighborhood. Two were officer involved shootings.

The first incident began about 6:30 p.m last Thursday., when officers spotted a vehicle that was "acting in a suspicious and evasive manner" near 68th Street and Long Beach Boulevard, said Marlene Arrona, a spokeswoman for the police department. The car stopped in the middle of Long Beach Boulevard, and a man inside left the car and fled on foot away from police, Arrona said. Officers chased the man about two blocks to an alley near 68th Street and Orcutt Avenue. In the alley, the man allegedly brandished a firearm and did not drop it, Arrona said. After the man was shot, officers provided medical aid and he was later taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity was not released.

A man was killed during a shooting in the city’s West Side early Saturday morning, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officials said. Officers were dispatched to the 2300 block of Cameron Street at 2:25AM on Saturday, March 19 regarding a shots heard call, LBPD spokesman Brad Johnson said.  “While responding to the scene they were advised that there was a subject down in the street,” he added. Arriving officers found a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the upper torso, according to officials.

The final shooting was not officer involved: Police are investigating a shooting in North Long Beach that left a woman injured just after midnight Friday, authorities said. An officer was dispatched to a Downey hospital at 1:13AM on Friday, March 18 regarding a gunshot victim who was shot on the 6800 block of Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) spokesman Brad Johnson said.

Clean Up: This Saturday Walnut and Anaheim: Headed North to PCH 10am

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.

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

First Clean Up of 2015: Gundry PCH to 15th Done

This morning we had our first neighborhood clean up of 2016 along Gun dry from PCH to 15th is finished. I will say Gundry was very well kept. At least one alleyway looked very well maintained. We will get 15th to Anaheim soon and be partnering with Wrigley to clean Chestnut from 23rd heading towards Willow tomorrow at 8am.

Also, don't forget the City Wide Breakfast will be held at 1744 Gaviota, on 02/20/2016. All the neighborhood is invited. #SupportJosephine

Introducing The Go Long Beach Run Map

In an effort to help police, Code Enforcement and community watch members, we are creating a map of our Go Long Beach Runs. This is for creating a running record of the tagging and dumping in the area. Gonna try to partner with Josephine A Villaseñor and do this for all of District Six. This is the first attempt, enlarge the map and it will show you where the gang related tagging, encampments and dumping is in the neighborhood. Doing this to make it easier for Community Watch Members to know where to keep their eyes on. I also created a graphic for this week to show you exactly what is happening and where. 

You will notice the dumping is largely around 14th street. And the tagging is largely around Gaviota, seemingly spreading out from the alleyway. What this tells me is if you live along Rose or Gaviota south of 15th, that alleyway needs to be watched. Also notice the trend along Orange and Alamitos of dumping. People tend to dump on that corner just south of Barcelona, and the tagging happens a lot on the East end of the street. All the minor tagging seems to radiate out from it, except for a street sweeping sign on Gundry, which was tagged much earlier.

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

 The map will be expanded to include unreported crime and sidewalk damage soon.

#SupportJosephine [6th District City Council]

District One Meeting: El Niño Preparedness

There was a meeting tonight at Drake Park sponsored by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez. While the meeting focused on Community Watches, there was also time spent on the Go Long Beach App, Homeless Services and El Niño. 

Because we covered Community Watches in a previous meeting, we'll be focusing tonight on being prepared for El Niño in this write up.

El Niño is a change in weather patterns that stands to change temperatures and weather patterns in cities like Long Beach. Where our average downpour is around 12 inches, El Niño can double the down pour. This usually comes in the form of four storms. One major storm brings about an inch and a quarter of rain, the rest resemble your average winter shower. 

While an inch and a quarter of rain doesn't sound like a serious issue, in addition to flooding it can cause extensive erosion and rip tides. Tonight's meeting, as it relates to El Niño was all about knowing what to do before, during and after the storm.

BEFORE THE STORM

• Clear rain gutters
• Have lumber, tarps, duct tape to repair leaks as they occur
• Cover patio furniture
• Keep at least 1/4 of gas in your tank
• Have an emergency kit.
• Have important identification in plastic bags
• Have copies of phone books that are not in cell phones.
• Prepare for special needs: IE Autistic kids/ insulin etc
• Have sand bags in flood areas
• Use Nixle/ Social Networking and stay connected
• Find a weather service and pay attention.

DURING THE STORM

• Listen to news that can help
• Avoid water above ankles
• If water comes up to top of your tires it isn't safe to continue
• Stay on familiar train
• Avoid down power lines
• If you see downed lines call 911

AFTER THE STORM

• Pay attention to news about drinking water
• Sewer breaks may require you to boil the water
• Have water purification such as bleach tablets in emergency kits
• Avoid disaster site seeing.
• Don't handle downed power lines
• Replenish emergency kits

The City of Long Beach also has a plan for the coming storms. This plan will include the clearing of 5300 basins, testing 28 pump stations and having the Fire Department make sand and sand bags available to the public. Sand will be available at 1651 San Francisco. Sand bags are available at Fire Stations 7, 12, 13 and 14.  Additionally, Parks and Recreation will be creating berms and clearing rain gutters for all government facilities. Fire will identify places where the Swift Water Rescue Response team may be needed. Police may be called on to alter traffic control patterns and activate search and rescue teams when needed. 

Also, while El Niño will help the drought in California, it is unlikely to undo it.

Recap: The MacArthur Park Neighborhood Meeting

Tonight the MacArthur Park Neighborhood hosted its monthly meeting at the Mark Twain Library. The speakers included our neighborhood resource officer, Officer Gabriel Bentanzos and Jason Gallup from Sustainable Long Beach.

A Sustainable Long Beach

The second part of the meeting was a presentation by Sustainable Long Beach. The City of Long Beach Office of Sustainability was created to model leadership and supports practical solutions to improve the environment. Sustainable Long Beach began in 2008 when the City Council decided to go green and in doing so was tasked with developing a Sustainable City Action Plan. In a nutshell, these are attempts to more effectively cut down on waste by more efficiently using city resources. The program offers seven major services, this meeting focused on three of the seven.

Some of programs offered by Sustainable Long Beach include:

1. Free Mulch: As the city  moves away from grass longs to drought tolerant plants, the city has developed a program that delivers free mulch to residents. The mulch comes from city tree trimmings, that were once simply tossed in local landfills. Now instead of throwing the trimmings away, they are shaved down and turned into mulch, which when added to lawns, reduces weeds, adds nutrients to soil, regulates soil temperature and helps retain water.  To be eligible to receive you must be a Long Beach resident and a homeowner.
2. The Civic Garden: This was created to demonstrate how to get the most out of a small growing space. Located at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802. The garden is a great place to learn how to grow your own food in garden containers you create. Urban gardening itself is the idea that citizens can grow food no matter where they live, whether it's a high rise apartment, a tiny condo, or a house with no backyard. In addition to monthly classes in urban garden, you can also learn how to make your own containers to save space, like Earth boxes and vertical planters. 
3. The Rain Barrel Rebate Program: Long Beach Residents are currently eligible to receive rebates of up to $75 per barrel with a maximum of four rain barrels per home. These barrels collect rain for lawn irrigation without relying on the city's water supply. This program is not free, but the rain barrels you  purchase will run about $85 before the rebate. After getting $75 back, you are looking at a 55 gallon rain barrel for about $10. Additionally, the company that handles the rebates is also offering rebates on high efficiency toilets, sprinkler heads and clothes washers. 
   

Finally, Sustainable Long Beach is aggressively plugging the Cool California Challenge. This is basically a competition between twenty-two cities in California trying to outdo each other in saving on their water and energy bills.  Basically, you create an account and begin monitoring your energy and water bills. As the program gives you tips on how to bring those bills down, you earn points by using less energy and spending less money. If you are successful, your energy bills come down. And as you saves money, the city of Long Beach stands to win money which can be used to bring more energy saving programs back here.

A Brief Safety Update: The Shooting

Most of the safety update centered on holiday safety and some updated information on the fatal shooting at 14th and Gundry last week. For those unfamiliar with the shooting,  read the previous safety update. Here are additional details from tonight's meeting. The suspect is a 17-year-old juvenile. Because of this, despite being involved in this murder, he may be out by age 24. Also the suspect may be connected to other shootings in the area. During the shooting, the suspect was originally spotted on Gundry and fled south to 1136 Hoffman. Police are working with property owners to evict any gang members that may be causing long term problems for the neighborhood. 

A lot of the holiday safety information was common sense and has been covered in previous posts. Here's a brief recap. 

As we approach the holiday season, here are some safety tips.

1.  Ship items to a location where they will be personally received, and/or ask a trusted neighbor to collect and hold the item rather than leaving it in a common area.
2.  Request carriers to ship items to their local store or distribution center to be held for pick up.
3. Advise your local post office when you will be out of town so they can hold your deliveries until your return.
4. Track the progress of your anticipated delivery and if you don’t receive it as expected, contact the issuing company, and when possible request proof of delivery.
5. Remove valuables and holiday packages from your vehicle, and don’t use it as a storage area - More tips from the LAPD

MacArthur Park Neighborhood meetings for the MacArthur Park Neighborhood  are every third Tuesday and hosted through the Neighborhood Resource Center. The next meeting, unless the holidays interfere, should be on 12/15/2015 at 5:00pm.

Gardenia Street Is Clean from PCH to 14th Street

There was an announced cleaning of Gardenia Street starting at 1611 Gardenia. The clean up headed north and south down Gardnia. All dumped items, with the exception electronic devices such as TVs and an water heaters, were removed. In the end, the dumpster was filled in about one hour.

I have personally signed up for a large clean up on the 12th of December 2015. This will be a joint clean up with friends from the Wrigley Neighborhood. I intend to make this a slightly bigger clean up than we've don in the past. There will likely be food, prizes and other reasons for our neighbors to get involved. Stay tuned for details. #SupportJosephine

Sunday Safety Update: 10/25/2015 - 11/07/2015

Disclaimer: Please note these maps are meant to show which direction crime is trending, areas to keep an extra eye on and places to remain vigilant in order for Central Long Beach residents to remain safe. That said, previous trends don't guarantee future trends will repeat in the same direction and patterns. Also, an absence of crime in one area, does not guarantee an absence in that same area later on. as well.

The map of last week is on the bottom; this week is on the top.

There was a a trend of residential burglaries on the streets just north of 15th last week. They begin around Sherman and 15th on Sunday and trend both east and west into this week. 

Afterwards, they trended west and north. Also note there is a pattern of burglaries on the other side of Rotary Centennial Park this week and last week there was a trend of auto thefts trending up, in about the same place. 

Please read up on preventing burglaries, since they are clearly up. 

This week assaults are up beginning at Cherry and trending towards MacArthur Park. From there, they end as auto thefts pick up and begin trending north towards PCH. From PCH, those  crimes trends back to it's starting place. In other words, keep your eye open everywhere. 

In case you would like to help put an end to this there are some upcoming Community Watch Meetings.

Community Watch Workshops 
Beginning Next Week

Washington Neighborhood
Wednesday, November 11th
6 – 8 pm 
The Guidance Center
1301 Pine Ave

Willmore Neighborhood
Thursday, November 19th
7 – 9 pm
Drake Park Community Room
951 Maine Ave

Linden-Roosevelt Neighborhood
Monday, December 7th
7 – 9 pm
Location To Be Determined

Shootings Outside Our Neighborhood: 

An early Saturday morning shooting in central Long Beach left one man dead.
Officers were called at 3:26 a.m. Saturday to the 1000 block of Olive Avenue on reports of a shooting, according to the Long Beach Police Department. When officers arrived, they found a man who had been struck by gunfire. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics responded and transported to a local hospital. - Full Story

There will soon be a page here to collect information on all shootings, make victims into names instead of numbers and make it incredibly difficult for anyone who does something so cowardly to count on their actions being forgotten.

* Within MacArthur Park: There have been less shootings, but crime is still up. Please keep an eye out for your neighbors. The MacArthur Park Community Association will be paroling at the least twice during the week and once during the weekend. Any suspicious activity will immediately be reported to police. Also until 15th street clears up, there will be morning patrols to look after the pathways to school.

There was a West Division forum on Human Trafficking and a Public Safety meeting by the first district. A separate write up is coming soon. I will have links to the write ups soon. Sorry for the delay.