Dog walkers may soon be the next quasi-vigilantes of the city’s streets, as the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a proposal to create a Dog Walker Watch program during Tuesday night’s council meeting.
The program, which would be part of the city’s current Community Watch Program, would train dog walkers to watch for suspicious activity that police have been asking people to report, according to Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews, who proposed the idea.
“With over 63,000 dog owner households in the city, implementing a Dog Walker Watch program would convert many of those walkers to “extra eyes and ears” for the police department,” Andrews said. “Dog walkers can be a valuable resource in helping to make our community safer.”
Andrews said he had been working on this program with the Long Beach Police Department for more than a year.
The item was co-authored by Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, Councilman Daryl Supernaw, and Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez.
“I think this supports the police department’s mission of increasing the number of community watch groups and allowing extra eyes to be put on the issues that impact quality of life and neighborhood safety,” Councilwoman Suzie Price said. “So anything we can do to help the police with adding eyes and ears I think is helpful for us to do at this time.”
The agenda item recommends the City Manager’s Office to implement the program and report back to the city council within 90 days.
For more information on the program, residents can call Andrew’s office at 562.570.6816.
Above, left: file photo.