Private security, camera network in Lakewood?
Council is considering several options to fight recent high-profile crime.
By Brian Maquena
March 21, 2022
LAKEWOOD, CALIF. — City Council will consider hiring private security and instituting a city-wide license plate camera network, among other things, to fend off local violent crime that has recently caught the attention of major television news networks.
The Lakewood Populist broke the story about a gang of hooligans with baseball bats intimidating Lakewood residents on March 5 as the hooligans stole residents’ catalytic converters and smashed their vehicles.
A resident’s security camera caught one of the hooligans about to bash a Lakewood woman’s head if she came out of her house while catching the criminals in the act. The video—discovered by the Lakewood Populist and relayed to Fox 11 News morning and evening telecasts, KTLA 5 News, and NBC 4 News—has been seen by hundreds of thousands if not more.
The story was also picked up by ABC 7 News and the LA Times.
Lakewood’s Public Safety Committee, led by Mayor Jeff Wood and Councilman Todd Rogers, considered the issue on March 17. They will present their findings tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. to the full Council.
Possible measures include:
Contracting private security to provide high-visible patrols to targeted areas of Lakewood.
Using an automated license plate reader camera network throughout Lakewood.
Putting additional Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol via overtime.
Putting unarmed Community Safety Officers on late night patrols.
Lakewood Council will also consider a public-private partnership for catalytic converter etching, as well as offering a security camera rebate program. Council will consider more public outreach on crime prevention as well.
A supplemental staff report will be delivered to Council Tuesday, March 22, at the 7:30 p.m. meeting.
It is unknown which LASD official will be present at the meeting. Lakewood Sheriff’s Station Captain Sprengel is currently off pending his retirement, wrote Councilman Todd Rogers in an email. Lt. Briseno currently is the acting captain. Rogers wrote that the end of March was the traditional retirement period for LASD personnel.
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