North Hollywood SLO Catalano Gives Us the Year-End Crime Stats for North Hollywood.
The year-end statistics are in and North Hollywood had another year with a reduction in crime. It wasn’t much of a reduction but when you look at where we were six months ago, it’s great news. We finished the end of the year with 0.22 percent reduction in crime for the division as of the first week in January. North Hollywood division is approximately 22 square miles with a population of approximately 204,000 people, per the last census numbers. It’s an area that still continues to grow.
The NOHO Arts area is in the center of the division where the majority of growth has taken place since the inception of the Red Line in 2000. My basic car covers the Arts Area and includes the Red Line Subway, Orange Line Busway and all the high density housing surrounding the very popular transit hub for the San Fernando Valley. Now add the numerous restaurants, bars, theaters, shops, schools and parks as you travel the area.
The Lankershim corridor between Burbank Blvd. and Camarillo St. is the heart of the arts area. Hidden throughout some of the side streets are multi – housing units, recording studios, dance studios, galleries and more.
New additions and older staples like the El Portal continue to attract a lot of people to the area. Big Wangs sports bar and The Federal provide some great food and drinks. The 24 hour fitness membership seems to be growing monthly. Not long ago, 60 thousand people were working out monthly. I know today’s statistics are even higher. The Art Institute of CA has about 1800 students in attendance. Some students are residing in the area rental apartments for housing, while many others commute daily.
We have a population in the arts area of about 54 thousand people, but we need to consider the number of people who commute to the area for all the arts and entertainment that North Hollywood has to offer. The Red Line Subway alone transports approximately 34K people daily in and out of the area alone.
People who lived here for years, still continue to discover new attractions. Tucked away behind a tall fence between a multi story building and a commercial property is likely another recording or dance studio. I still find new things and I have been driving up and down these streets since 1997.
Most people would think that the area crime statistics increased as quickly as the growth of NOHO Arts area. The fact is we have been reducing crime in NOHO now many years. Even with the tremendous growth of the area, the number of police officers have remained about the same.
There are so many obstacles against us recently, including a recession, high unemployment, a crash of the housing market and recent issues like early release from prison for overcrowding. With that said, the next question should be, how could a division that continues to grow have had these crime reduction numbers.
I believe first and foremost it is the dedication and hard work of the men and woman of the LAPD. The department motto on every police car states ” to protect and to serve.” However, the unofficial motto heard for a very long time is ” doing more with less.” With that said, I see my peers working very hard everyday for a minimum of 10- 12 hours, protecting the streets and the people of this community.
The reduction in crime is clearly a team effort. The North Hollywood Division has incredible support system from the diverse residential and business community. Our success as a division could not be possible without this support. This is clearly seen with the numerous active neighborhood watch groups and the large number of people involved with us throughout the year.
In addition to the police and community support, the NOHO Arts area is lucky to have a very active BID. The business improvement district is a big part of the team effort that has assisted us with keeping the “Arts” community safe and clean. The NOHO BID has safety ambassadors that conduct foot beats and patrol the arts area on bikes. We have a great working relationship with the BID and meet with them regularly.
The safety ambassadors even attend our weekly “crime” meetings at the police station to stay up to date of what’s going on in the community. Having the safety ambassadors is almost the same as having additional officers patrolling the streets. While they are not sworn personnel for the police, they along with the private security officers, are additional eyes and ears in the community and, no doubt, another reason why our crime rate is where it is today.
In 2014, the North Hollywood Division officers we will continue to work hard with another crime reduction goal for the end of this year. With your continued help and support, this will hopefully be a very attainable and realistic goal.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at 32740@lapd.lacity.org.
John Catalano
15SLO39
North Hollywood Division – LAPD.
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Author: Lisa Bianconi
Editor of www.nohoartsdistrict.com