Crime in Santa Monica

Editor:

It’s more like not a week goes by without news of a stabbing, shooting, assault, rape or home invasion. And there are undoubtedly countless less serious crimes, many of which go unreported. Santa Monica wasn’t like this ten years ago. Crime is getting worse and it is clear that we need to make changes to reverse this trend.

The causes of the rising crime rate can be argued, but I would venture to say that the growing crime rate in our communities is due in large part to the weakened law enforcement imposed by our provincial prosecutor and to permissive local policies regarding to homelessness.

And now we face elections for four of the seven seats on our city council, involving two lists of candidates with different views on crime and homelessness.

One list, made up of Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre, Vivian Roknian and John Putnam, has spoken out in favor of reducing crime by increasing our police force, combating aid to drug users in our public parks and tightening the rules regarding its use. of public spaces by homeless people. All four of these candidates support replacing George Gascon as our county prosecutor so that we in Santa Monica can strengthen our own enforcement of laws regarding criminals.

The other side, including Barry Snell, Ellis Raskin, Dan Hall and Natalya Zernitskaya, have taken positions more consistent with maintaining the status quo. They support the re-election of George Gascon, and thus a continuation of his catch-and-release and no-bail policy for criminals. They support provincial programs to distribute drug needles and pipes in our public parks, a program that has served to attract drug users, leaving many of our residents feeling unsafe, especially as they bring their children. And they are against reducing sleeping in our public spaces.

This is a crucial election to give our city leaders a chance to reverse our growing crime trend. I urge all voters who care about the safety of our families, our children and the elderly, and our many visitors, to vote for the Brock-de la Torre-Roknian-Putman slate. And we need you to vote for all four so that you get the necessary majority on the city council that will allow changes to be made.

To those voters who are inclined to support the Snell-Raskin-Hall-Zernitskaya list, perhaps more for ideological reasons, I urge you to reconsider your choices so that we can enable our council to take practical steps to reduce crime and to improve the situation. safety and well-being of your neighbors and our community at large.

Faustino Garza, Santa Monica

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