City Council Has a Tepid Response to Spate of Armed Robberies

Imagine complaining to the chef you are dissatisfied with your dinner at his restaurant and the chef asks, “Was it the worst meal you’ve ever had?” and you reply “no,” and then the chef asks, “Was it the second worst meal you ever had?” and you reply, “no,” then the chef ends the conversation satisfied all is well. 

This is what occurred at last night's city council meeting. Our new Police Chief, Ed Aceves, had just finished giving his take on the recent spate of armed robberies shocking La Mesa when one of the council members said, “People out there are saying La Mesa has the highest crime rate in the county, is this true?” The Chief said, “No.” Then the council member said, “Do we have the second highest crime rate?” and the Chief said, “No.” 

And that was that. The problem isn't crime in La Mesa; it's whether City Council looks good or not.

What would make City Council look good is to take action to measurably lower crime in La Mesa. How?

First: Admit there’s a crime problem. Crime logs don’t lie, stats don’t lie and SANDAG’s 2010 report (see attached) placing La Mesa as the city with the second highest crime rate in San Diego County should serve as a giant wake-up call. There’s a tendency when one’s in charge to sugarcoat or dismiss bad news to maintain the appearance of competency. How refreshing it would have been last night to hear a council member say, “Wow! On our watch?! This is unacceptable. For the sake of our city’s safety and reputation, we need to STOP this now.”

Second: Study. If the problem is not coming from the trolley then where is it coming from? Go to LaMesaNeighborhoodWatch.com and click on “Crime/Incident Map.” Type an address, try Schoolridge Lane. The balloons (icons that represent incidents of crime) are so crowded together, the surrounding street names are unreadable. Do this for Lowell Street, El Cajon Boulevard, Palm Ave. (Collier Park is covered in crime balloons), do it for your neighborhood.

Third: Ask “Why is crime so high in these places?” “Is this where the criminals reside?” These are areas of high-density living, lots of apartments. Drive these apartments and see couches in dumpsters, graffiti and litter. The apartments appear over-crowded. One’s environment plays a huge role in one’s behavior. Maybe the owners of these buildings through negligence, greed or disregard have become slumlords.

Using the power of permits and inspections (Title 19 – Housing, Chapter 19.04 Apartment Houses and Hotels), the city should compel these owners to be responsible for their buildings: clean up the trash and graffiti, call for more frequent EDCO pickups, fine for violations, reduce the number of tenants per dwelling, install security cameras for the safety of the tenants and the deterrence of crime. Consider converting apartments to condos. Pride of ownership is not a myth; communities with more owners and less renters enjoy less crime.

Fourth: Lead. Learn from other success stories (New York City in the ’90s cleaned up their city and watched crime plummet and property values and reputation soar). Set aside grand ideals. With crime high and coffers low, now is not the time to pursue an electric fleet of city cars, fair trade agreements or Sustain La Mesa Environmental Festivals and Art Contests.

The city’s priority needs to be reducing crime. If neglected apartment buildings are the site and source of our crime problems, take action. If trash and graffiti broadcast to criminals, "No one is watching, no one cares," Clean it up - added bonus: improved image, civic pride and property values.

No one expects our City Council to stop crime, but we do expect them to recognize a problem when they see it and act on it.