Public Safety

New Avalon Lifeguard and Paramedic Headquarters Funding Approved By County

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $3.897 million project to construct a state-of-the-art lifeguard and paramedic headquarters building in the City of Avalon on Catalina Island. Of the $3.897 million budget, $2.915 will be used for actual construction costs, while the remaining funds will be used for project management costs, furnishing and equipping the building, and a public art project for the exterior of the building.

The proposed project is a two-story, 7,005 square foot lifeguard/paramedic station which consists of a two-bay garage for housing a paramedic truck, a utility vehicle and watercraft trailers; an office with storage rooms; a reception area, with a public restroom.

The Avalon Lifeguard facility will also have one unique feature among all of the County’s similar buildings. This will be the first to include dormitory space for workers, which will consist of a living room, kitchen, dining room and bedroom space for up to eight people. County lifeguards on Catalina Island are on-call for 24-hour periods, meaning that anyone stationed in Avalon must secure housing in the City’s limited and expensive housing market. With the new building, lifeguards will be able to complete their shifts without having to acquire housing off-site.

The new building will be constructed on a parcel of land adjacent to City Hall that was donated to the County by the City of Avalon. Construction is scheduled to be completed by January 31, 2009.

Governor Approves Knabe Plan to Slow Jail Early Release Program

A policy idea first proposed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe last year, that would increase the electronic monitoring of convicted felons, has now been signed into statewide law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Bill, signed by the Governor yesterday, could allow thousands of inmates sentenced for minor, non-violent crimes to be shifted out of County jail beds and into electronic monitoring instead. This would allow the additional jail beds to be used to ensure violent criminals serve longer portions of their sentences, a problem that now exists under the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Early Release Program.

The idea for increased use of electronic monitoring was presented by Supervisor Knabe to the Board of Supervisors in July 2006. After the Board approved making Knabe’s plan a legislative priority, an author for the Bill was successfully sought in State Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles).

Under the old state law, many convicted criminals were allowed to choose between a jail sentence and electronic monitoring. Many criminals chose jail time instead of the electronic monitoring option because they knew that under the current statistics of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Early Release Program, if they enter the County jail system, they will likely only serve 10-percent of the time they were actually sentenced with, as opposed to serving 100-percent of their sentence on electronic monitoring.

Supervisor Knabe’s proposal asked the Governor and legislators to revise the State law to ensure that the decision between electronic monitoring and a jail term is left to the law enforcement community and not in the hands of lawbreakers. Under the new law, electronic monitoring will become mandatory for certain non-violent offenders, and as a result, it will free up much-needed beds in County jails for the very worst offenders, who need to remain behind bars for more than just a fraction of their sentences.

If a criminal receives a 30-day sentence, then why would they agree to be electronically monitored that entire time if they know the loopholes of early release mean a 30-day sentence translates into only a few days behind bars, said Supervisor Knabe. The choice between the two should not be an option in the hands of convicted criminals. Criminals should not get to choose their punishment simply because one takes less time to complete. Length of punishment belongs in the hands of our judges and when a judge imposes a sentence, that sentence needs to stick.

Ultimately, we need additional jail beds to ensure that every criminal serves every day he is sentenced to, but until that day comes, this new Bill will ensure that the very worst offenders will remain behind bars and that the electronic monitoring option will be used only for non violent criminals. I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Romero, and all the legislators who supported this important Bill.

Up to 2,000 inmates in the Los Angeles County jail system will be placed into electronic monitoring through the use of ankle bracelets. As of this week, there are only 413 offenders on electronic monitoring.

Knabe Announces New Funding To Improve Juvenile Probation Services

The Los Angeles County Probation Department will soon add dozens of new jobs that will benefit juvenile service programs, thanks to new funding totaling $4.6 million that was successfully sought by Supervisor Don Knabe. The new funding comes after Supervisor Knabe directed County budget staff to fund a reduction in field caseload levels within the Probation Department. The resulting recommendations include the $4.6 million allocation, which will fund 71 new positions.

34 of the positions are for the Juvenile Services Placement Bureau, to reduce the current caseload level down to 25 cases per Deputy Probation Officer. These positions will also improve efforts to properly manage and administer State and Federal regulations that govern case management.

33 of the new positions will be in the Juvenile Special services Bureau, which will reduce the current caseload to 50 cases per officer. This will help the department adopt a home-based service delivery model to increase family participation and decrease risk factors which lead to crime.

The final four positions will be Assistant Probation Directors in the Residential Treatment Bureau. They will support and assist camp managers in the administration of the juvenile camps.

$10,000 Reward Reestablished for Information Related to Double Homicide in Cerritos

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has unanimously reestablished a $10,000 reward today, at the request of Supervisor Don Knabe, for information related to a double homicide in the City of Cerritos.

On Thursday, October 26, 2006, at 4:00 p.m., Cerritos Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on Rose Street regarding a rescue call. Upon their arrival, the deputies entered the home and learned that two male adults had been shot to death. One victim, Joshua Shin, age 32, lived at the house with his parents, and the other victim, Matthew Morrison, age 23, was a visitor. Homicide investigators have several significant leads and reward monies may help to motivate those with specific knowledge about this case to come forward.

It is important for the County of Los Angeles to display its resolve in protecting innocent citizens from appalling crimes, said Supervisor Knabe. In order to bring this suspect to justice, and demonstrate our intolerance to such deplorable crimes, I believe the reward for this case should be re-established, hoping someone will come forward in order that we can bring this suspect to justice.

Any person having any information related to this crime is asked to contact Detective Richard Green of the Homicide Bureau at the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station at
(562) 860-0044.

Knabe Names New Planning Deputy

Supervisor Don Knabe is pleased to announce the appointment of Julie Moore as the new Planning Deputy for the Fourth District.

Julie Moore has more than 17 years of experience in urban and regional planning with the County of Los Angeles. She spent over 15 years with the Department of Regional Planning leading housing policy and community planning efforts in various urban unincorporated communities and serving as staff to the Regional Planning Commission and the County’s Airport Land Use Commission.

Moore received her Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and also has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of both the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Moore is a native of Los Angeles County. She is a former longtime resident of Hacienda Heights and is a product of the local schools there. She currently resides in the City of Glendale with her family.

I’m excited to have Julie join our staff, said Supervisor Knabe. Her experience in urban and regional planning and her extensive knowledge of the issues across the County will be a wonderful asset to our office and the entire Fourth District.

County Has Eye Towards The Environment With New And Upgraded beach Vehicles

Over $2.2 million in renovations and improvements at Schabarum Regional County Park in Rowland Heights will be underway shortly, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

This extensive construction at Schabarum includes three distinct projects: the demolition and replacement of seven existing pedestrian/service bridges and the repair of two existing vehicle bridges; the regrading of the existing horse staging area to improve drainage and horse trail alignment; and the replacement of the existing playground equipment with new equipment.

The estimated cost of each project is as follows: $1,294,000 for the Bridges Replacement Project, $646,000 for the Horse Staging Area Project, and $312,000 for the Play Area Replacement Project. The total budget for the entire three-part project is $2,252,000.

The Bridges Replacement and Horse Staging Area Projects are completely funded with Fourth District Capital Project funds and the Play Area Replacement Project is funded in part by State Proposition 40 Grant funds.

This project is about making a reinvestment in our community, said Supervisor Knabe. These improvements will not only increase the safety at and usefulness of Schabarum Park, but will also benefit the many residents of surrounding communities who utilize this Park.

Overhauling Education In The Council Juvenile Justice System

The schools designed to teach children incarcerated in the Los Angeles County juvenile justice system may be seriously underserving students, according to a new report by the Children’s Planning Council (CPC). As a result, Supervisor Don Knabe today called for a top-to-bottom reform of the education system in the County’s juvenile halls and probation camps, including the possible use of charter schools.

According to the CPC, recent student performance data show that most of the youth in the juvenile justice system have been – and continue to be – left behind despite ongoing research that shows that education is one of the areas most in need of improvement in the system.

Among the recent findings:

– In 2004, 74 percent of juvenile justice students did not pass the California High School Exit Examination.

– 20 percent of all Probation students require special education programs; double that of the general school special education population.

– School attendance records for Nidorf Juvenile Hall reveal that on one particular day in April 2007, 14% of students in the hall were not enrolled in the on-site school and only 78% of the enrolled students attended that day.

– Students in some high-risk units received little more than one hour of instruction on a particular day.

Knabe’s call for reform directs County agencies to develop a comprehensive plan to dramatically reform education programs in the County’s juvenile halls and probation camps, including an exploration of the feasibility of charter schools and other innovative models of education.

We have nearly 3,000 children enrolled in our probation schools and we have an obligation to provide each and everyone one of them with access to educational opportunities, said Knabe. If we want to keep these kids from returning to the juvenile justice system or from ending up in County jails later in life, then access to quality schooling must be a critical component of how we are serving children in our camps and halls.

Los Angeles County to Fund New Street Lights in Downtown Long Beach

The County of Los Angeles will fund a major portion of a project designed to improve pedestrian safety through enhanced street lighting in parts of downtown Long Beach, Supervisor Don Knabe announced recently.

The street lighting replacement project will occur on both Broadway and 3rd Street between Pacific Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard. The existing City-owned high pressure sodium lights will be replaced with brighter metal halide lights. The total project cost is $41,000, of which $25,000 will be financed by the County’s Fourth Supervisorial District Public Ways/Public Utilities Fund.

These upgrades will be the second phase of upgrades to street lighting in the downtown area. Local business owners and the Downtown Long Beach Associated worked with the City of Long Beach to make similar upgrades to street lights along Pine Avenue in February 2007.

The goal of this project is to improve lighting and pedestrian safety along the east and west access routes to the nearby Blue Line stations, said Supervisor Knabe. It is a project the County is happy to be a part of.

New Program to Clean Up Short-Stay Hotels in Wilmington/Harbor Area

Supervisor Don Knabe announced a new program today that will soon be addressing criminal activity and public nuisance complaints at short-stay hotels in the Wilmington and Harbor Gateway neighborhoods.

The "Harbor Area Vendor Voucher Pilot" is a partnership initiated by Supervisor Knabe between the County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the City Attorney’s Office, the City Department of Housing and the City Department of Building and Safety to address the mounting public concerns over Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in the Wilmington/Harbor area.

These SRO hotels have been generating numerous code and safety complaints in the communities where they are located. The LAPD has been getting frequently called out to these hotels to deal with problems, and the owners were being cited again and again for zoning violations.

Under the program, which officially launches on June 1, the County, who pays the hotel owners $27 per night to house General Relief recipients for up to 14 days, will ensure the property owners comply with meeting code and safety citations imposed by the City. If the owners don’t comply and clean up their properties, they won’t get paid by the County.

Over the past year, this County-City partnership has fine-tuned the workings of the program by testing it on the Bonnie Lee Hotel in Wilmington, which has been a center of criminal activity and non-compliance with building codes. Cleanup of this test site has proven successful and the results of the test will be incorporated into the larger program.

"These hotels have been a hotbed of criminal activity for far too long, and it’s time we held the owners of these hotels accountable for the conditions that are festering on their properties, said Supervisor Knabe. Since the County funds these hotels, it’s only logical that we bring up our ability to cut off their funding if they don’t comply. The partnership with the City has been extremely helpful, and I understand that conditions are improving in these hotels already."

Tracking Down Child Support Payment Evaders

Seeking to crackdown on hundreds of the County’s most heinous child support payment evaders, Supervisor Don Knabe today introduced a motion designed to create a partnership between the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) and the Office of the District Attorney. The primary goal of this program would be to increase enforcement against parents who are the most delinquent in their child support payments.

CSSD goes to great lengths to pursue collection of child support payments on behalf of families in need, and always seeks to establish cooperative relationships with the parent required to make payments. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of parents currently in the County’s system that go to great lengths to evade their child support obligations, even after arrest warrants have been issued. There are approximately 2,000 parents who fall into this category, and they owe over $2.5 million in child support payments. Currently, CSSD does not have the means by which to proactively serve these warrants. One possible solution to this problem is a partnership with the District Attorney, which would utilize retired District Attorney Investigators to pursue these 2,000 parents.

Far too many families are struggling to pay their bills because this specific group of parents are choosing to evade or ignore their responsibilities, said Supervisor Knabe. Our goal here is to create a program that tracks down these uncooperative parents and forces them to pay their child support obligations.