LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is taking urgent action to address recent crime in the San Fernando Valley. Mayor Bass was in Encino with LAPD officers yesterday to speak with families about the urgent action being taken in neighborhoods that have been affected by recent burglaries. The Mayor also spoke to hundreds of Angelenos at two community Valley meetings regarding this issue. Mayor Bass believes that when crime happens, it must be responded to urgently and those responsible must be held accountable. See photos and b-roll here.
On Wednesday, Mayor Bass visited the LAPD Van Nuys Division in the Valley and participated in a ride-along with LAPD officers to examine safety challenges and discuss efforts to continue to bring crime down.
“Every family deserves to feel safe in their homes and in their communities,” said Mayor Bass. “I’ve directed urgent action in relation to recent incidents in the Valley and this week I’ve spent time with our local leaders, and have worked closely with LAPD and community members to address safety challenges the Valley is facing and to take aggressive action to urgently work to keep Angelenos safe."
Over the summer, the City took action to help keep children and young people safe during the summer months by deploying resources through the Summer Night Lights program to some school-adjacent recreation facilities. Summer Night Lights increases youth and family programming in our public spaces in order to help reduce violence and served more than 100,000 attendees at 44 sites over a series of evenings. The program is a key component of the Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) Comprehensive Strategy.
Also this week, Mayor Bass joined local officials, school leaders and parents at Van Nuys Elementary in the San Fernando Valley to announce urgent action the City has taken in collaboration with LAUSD to help keep students, parents, families and school staff safe. As the new school year begins, hundreds of safety provisions have been installed near schools to make it safer for students to get to and from school.
The City has completed installation of projects and taken action to make areas around schools safer ahead of this school year, including:
Implementing street safety projects in the form of “quick build” street improvements at more than 180 intersections at more than 40 schools
Installing more than 250 speed humps near 92 schools where speeding is a known issue
Establishing School Slow Zones with reduced 15 mph speed limits on more than 450 street segments adjoining 190 schools.
Expediting the hiring of crossing guards, Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) will deploy more than 500 crossing guards for the coming school year, continuing the widest deployment in over a decade.
Signing an agreement with LAUSD to encourage safe passage that is free from violence for students traveling to and from schools.