In an effort to deter property crimes, Lakewood will soon begin to hire private security guards to assist the understaffed Sheriff’s Department by conducting overnight neighborhood patrols.
In recent months, property crimes such as smash-and-grabs, catalytic converter thefts and auto burglaries have increased across the nation, “to which Lakewood has not been immune,” City Manager Thaddeus McCormack said during a City Council meeting Tuesday.
“It does seem like things are getting worse,” he added.
Around early March, Lakewood residents on social media were alerting each other of a group of people who were prowling their neighborhoods at night armed with crowbars and bats. A video shows a group targeting a parked car and looking under it several times before lifting it with a jack. The people then proceed to take an object out from under the car and then use bats to smash the vehicle before driving away from the area.
Lakewood deputies reported that three catalytic converters were stolen in the same area that night. However, it is unclear if that group is connected to the incidents.
On March 5th, 2022, during the early morning hours, three catalytic converter thefts occurred in the City of Lakewood. These thefts occurred within close proximity of each other. Lakewood Station Detectives are investigating. Any info please contact Lakewood Station.
— LASD Lakewood (@LKDLASD) March 15, 2022
As part of a larger $400,000 Neighborhood Safety Enhancement Plan, Lakewood now plans to allocate $175,000 to hire private security guards that would patrol neighborhoods at night and work in collaboration with the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station. Due to staffing shortages countywide, the Sheriff’s Department is not allowing cities to add permanent patrol positions to their contracts, thus the need for private security for those “critical” overnight hours, said McCormack, who wishes to double the number of vehicles on the streets.
The private security guards will drive through Lakewood neighborhoods in a gridlock pattern and act as watchmen, reporting any activity they deem suspicious to the LASD, McCormack said.
The idea is that a larger police presence will discourage people from committing crimes in Lakewood, though Councilmember Todd Rogers pointed out that Lakewood already has a lower crime rate than other neighboring cities, citing a 6% decrease in property crimes and a 31% drop in burglaries in 2021.
“If you’re the victim of a crime, that definitely is one too many,” Rogers said. “We want to get as close to zero in the city of Lakewood as we can, and we’re gonna continue striving for that.”
The City Council will reevaluate the effectiveness of the plan after three months and determine whether any improvements need to be made, McCormack said.
The remainder of the budget allocated to the Neighborhood Safety Enhancement Plan would serve to provide overtime funding for LASD to assign patrols to nighttime hours, the addition of license plate reading cameras in major roadways, a rebate program to encourage residents to purchase security cameras and a radar trailer with a license plate reading camera that would give information to drivers about wanted or stolen vehicles, along with other efforts to combat catalytic converter thefts, according to the City Council agenda.
“That’s, I think, an investment that’s well worth it and will make a big difference in trying to do something to abate the serious crime that we’re experiencing right now,” McCormack said.
The City Council approved the plan on Tuesday and officials expect to implement it soon, but further details on the timeline were not immediately available.
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