LA city councilman calls for increased police in Hollywood amid surging crime

The Los Angeles city council member who represents Hollywood has had enough of rising crime in his district and is taking a stand – with his own money.

City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell introduced a motion on Wednesday to transfer $216,000 from his office to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood division to add additional officer shifts, reports Fox 11.

According to O'Farrell's office, there has been a 75% increase in homicides and a 35.6% increase in shots fired so far this year compared to last year. Robbery has gone up by 19.4% and theft by 24.7% in the same period.

LAPD detailed that the money could help with the hiring of up to 200 new officers, reports CBS Los Angeles.

“Proud to stand with residents, business owners, unarmed service providers and the LAPD this morning in Hollywood to send a clear message that if you plan to come to Hollywood to commit crime, you are not welcome,” the councilman posted on Twitter.

“All Angelenos should feel safe where they live and work, which is why my team is bringing additional LAPD officer shifts to Hollywood, strengthening the holistic approach we’re taking to public safety,” he added, referring to the use of unarmed services providers for non-violent incidents.

Hollywood residents are reeling from a recent string of violent crimes, such as the brutal beating of a woman in a parking garage and a man shot in the chest during an iPhone robbery.

The motion argued that the demand for public safety had exceeded the available resources in Hollywood.

More than 715,000 signatures were submitted in a petition to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, whose progressive reforms have been blamed for a surge in crime as arrests dropped.

At least 35 California cities have voted “no confidence” in Gascon. The most recent was El Monte in June, after two city police officers were killed in a shootout with a felon was free in part due to Gascon’s refusal to prosecute three-strike cases.