For the community Neighborhood Watch is a must-participate effort

Jan. 28th

Dear LACP,

While I was Councilman in the 14th District it at that time included all of the Hollenbeck Division of the LAPD, and I did a full-out effort to recruit and establish Neighborhood Watch in every neighborhood.

I called and held meetings, neighborhood by neighborhood, and with LAPD representatives pushed the concept and recruited leadership.

Captain Rudy deLeon was my close confidant in creating these changes, and should be give equal credit for the progress we made. His straightforward positioning changed a great deal in this period for Hollenbeck.

Prior to my becoming Councilman, Hollenbeck had one of the highest crime rates in the City. Within two years after starting those efforts, Hollenbeck fell to the second lowest crime rate in the City, behind Devonshire Division in the West San Fernando Valley, and then it tied with them, and then it became the lowest crime rate area in the City!

Neighborhood Watch may not have been the only cause of the fall, because we instituted many new programs, including the CRASH program and foot patrols in the projects.

But it was a major force in bringing it about.

For any person interested in the stabilization of their community and the reduction of crime, Neighborhood Watch is a must-participate effort.

Please pass this on to your friends who are devoting themseves to a similar campaign, with my best wishes for success.

Best regards,

Art Snyder
Member of the City Council, Retired