San Pedro Residents Demand More Police Protection In Face Of Rising Crime
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — Residents of San Pedro staged a demonstration Saturday asking for more police presence in their community.
Residents there told CBS2's Laurie Perez they were worried about a rising crime rate.
The group of residents got support for their cause from police officers themselves.
For 20 years at her San Pedro shop, Mona Sutton has been serving up made to order waffles and straight talk.
"The climate here has turned very negative," Sutton said.
Her Normal Rockwell diner is surrounded by the issues of 21st century urban America -- homelessness, poverty and, she says, the problems that sometimes go along with it.
"We haven't seen an upturn in crime like this is a number of years," she said.
The crime is why she helped bring hundreds in front of LAPD's Harbor Division Saturday morning.
The group asked for more police officers and to get the local jail opened and used so officers don't have to transfer suspects 30 minutes downtown.
"Right now our officers when they arrest somebody have to travel all the way to the 77th division to book their suspects," she said.
If they're there, they're not here and when they're not business and homeowners worry that's when crime spikes.
"Violent crime, homicides, property crime, everything is is up and we need more of a focus, more of a focus to bring it back down, a focus on patrol," says Lou Turriaga, director of the LA Police union.
The police union joined concerned community members for what the crowd called a pro-police rally. They wanted to make it clear they were not complaining officers not doing enough but worried that, with fewer officers on patrol, they can't do more.
Police with the Harbor Division don't disagree.
"I do feel understaffed, I would love to have more officers on the streets, I think it would be great if Harbor Division had more officers however you have to look at we are part of a much larger picture, the city as a whole, there are 20 plus other divisions that we're competing with for resources," said Catherine Plows, Harbor Area Community Relations.
Today's crowd told Perez they plan to bring their message to LADP Chief Charlie Beck on Thursday -- when he comes to San Pedro for a forum on crime at the Warner Grand Theater.
