Follow us on Twitter so we can keep you informed of important developments on this issue. Thank you for joining us in our efforts to keep Los Angeles safe!

Tell City Hall no more budget cuts to public safety!

With the City of Los Angeles’ leadership continuing to struggle with balancing the budget and new reports of Mayor Villaraigosa wanting to reopen contract talks, we need your help once more in reminding City Hall that public safety is the number-one priority of residents. Please click here to write to City Hall and sign our online petition, and tell city leaders that we cannot afford – either financially or in human costs – additional cuts to the public safety budget.

Budget cuts to police departments are starting to result in increased crime numbers. Recently New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg linked an unexpected 20% spike in homicides to having fewer police on the streets, backtracking on a December announcement touting the city’s success in decreasing crime with fewer resources.

You should know that there has already been a marked reduction in police coverage in our city, due to restrictions on police overtime and also the fact that officers are filling in for vacancies in civilian positions. Unfortunately, a recent rash of homicides in the city has us worried that our repeated warnings that budget cuts would reverse the crime reduction trends achieved by LAPD in recent years may be coming true.

Providing persuasive evidence that further cuts would be a bad idea, a RAND Corporation study released in mid-March confirms that public safety is an investment that pays huge financial and social dividends in our city. The study shows that the $125-150 million cost of expanding the Los Angeles Police Department has actually generated about $475 million annually in crime reduction benefits. This is vital information for city leaders to consider as they try to avoid both economic and social harm in balancing the city budget.

Click here to let city leaders know that they cannot make additional cuts to the LAPD without great peril to the safety and security of the city’s four million residents, and that investing in public safety is the smart strategy for both our short-term goals and prosperous future.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep Los Angeles safe.

Very truly yours,

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Los Angeles Police Protective League,

PAUL M. WEBER
President

CORINA LEE, Vice President
JOHN R. MUMMA, Secretary
RAMON ESPINOSA, Treasurer
TYLER IZEN, Director
BRIAN JOHNSON, Director
SCOTT RATE, Director
PETER REPOVICH, Director
KRISTI SANDOVAL, Director