Watching crime decrease
The Los Angeles Police Department launched a program last October to reduce crime in and around a 40-acre park west of downtown. By increasing undercover efforts from the narcotics squad and gang unit, increasing uniformed officer patrols and installing surveillance cameras, the city has dramatically reduced crime rates in MacArthur Park.
MacArthur Park was built in the 1880s as a lush place of leisure but, over time, degenerated into a 40-acre danger zone. The park is situated in the center of a seven-square-mile densely populated community of 400,000 residents. Although the community’s residents might have been tempted to spend time in the park, they steered clear of it because it was notorious for violent crime, narcotics sales and gang activity.
Police Chief William Bratton and Mayor James Hahn launched a Safer Cities Initiative in September 2003 that aimed to reduce crime in some high-profile areas of the city. MacArthur Park was included in that initiative, and Bratton vowed to rid the park of criminals and make it safer for families.
The Police Department reassigned 10 officers to patrol the area on bicycles, on foot and undercover, and it contracted with Pasadena, Calif.-based Hamilton Pacific to install a closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system that would help monitor the park. The system includes five CyberDome Day-Nite 25X cameras donated by Wilton, Conn.-based GE Infrastructure that feature removable infrared cut filters, which allow the cameras to be used for 24-hour surveillance. The units also have a 25x optical zoom lens, 12x digital zoom, 360-degree continuous pan and automatic switching between color and monochrome modes. The installation includes three GE StoreSafe digital video recorders and five GE KTD-405 keypad controllers.
The equipment is linked over the Internet to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Station, which oversees MacArthur Park and surrounding areas. An officer trained in the CCTV system with extensive knowledge of drug trafficking in the neighborhood is stationed in the control room. Because the cameras record continuously, the video can be used to document incidents as well as in court.
Installed in two months, the system was completed in mid-January. According to the LAPD, crime in the area around MacArthur Park has dropped dramatically since the system was installed. By the end of July, homicides had plunged by 45 percent, shootings dropped by 37 percent, robberies declined by 18 percent and total violent crimes decreased by 18 percent.
Families are returning to the park, and community organizations are once more planning events, including concerts and family festivals. The city is reinvesting in the park’s infrastructure, and officials expect business to expand and the economy to improve in the Alvarado Corridor. Plans for expanding the CCTV program are under way, and similar community projects in other parts of the city are expected in the near future.
