Hollywood : Anti-Violence Task Force

City Councilman Michael Woo has proposed that the City Council spend $450,000 to create an “Anti-Street Violence Strike Force” police unit in Hollywood.

Woo said a recent increase in crime in Hollywood needs to be fought with an increased police presence.

“Hollywood doesn’t mind being host to tens of millions of visitors a year, but we can’t handle the resulting crime alone,” Woo said Tuesday at a news conference near Mann’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

Woo’s proposal, which needs council approval, would create a four-officer force that would be on the lookout for crime instead of responding to radio calls. Much of the $450,000 would be used to pay overtime to officers, with some funds going to buy bulletproof vests for them.

Woo said the task force is the kind of community-based policing recommended by the Christopher Commission, which recently issued a highly critical report on the Los Angeles Police Department after the beating of Rodney G. King.