Is the downsizing and related job loss of yet another major employer, Toyota, in Long Beach a sign of more to come? I hope not. When are we going to get aggressive with policing? Long Beach needs more police and we need them now.
If we look to the future, the city’s resources have become stretched to the limit. The reports that crime is down don’t seem to have our residents convinced that the city is safer; quite the contrary. Just ask the victims and their families how they feel. Most people know that they are bound to the safety of their homes and venturing out into some neighborhoods after dark is done at your own risk.
The realists in Los Angeles are at least recognizing that they aren’t feeling any safer. With gang violence on the increase, one cannot help but feel that there is no concrete curtain containing and confining LA’s problems just to Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the issue of crime and safety play the single largest role in job creation and retention. We can work to convince our residents a failing infrastructure is at the root of most of our problems, and once that issue is resolved that Long Beach will see a turnaround. Unfortunately, the elephant in the room and at the heart of our city’s problems is crime and gang violence. Until Long Beach adopts a “safest California city” policy, people making decisions about wanting to bring their new businesses and their families to our city will be wishful thinking.
From my own experience, I can attest to this undercurrent of fear that seems to pervade those who look to make Long Beach their new home. Time and again, people seeking to bring their families to Long Beach bring up the gang, crime, and tarnished reputation they’ve heard from their friends. Until we recast our city’s reputation as the safest city in our State, companies like Toyota will look elsewhere.