VENICE : Leaders Demand More Police to Handle Crowds
Fearing more violence-related closures of Venice Beach, community leaders on Wednesday demanded a significantly greater police presence to handle the massive weekend crowds and sporadic gang fighting that led authorities to shut down the popular tourist attraction Sunday.
The Venice business leaders said in a beachside news conference that a recent increase in police staffing for the spring and summer months--about 90 police were on duty Sunday--was not enough to cope with crowds that can approach 200,000. The groups called for a weekend beach force of about 140 officers.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter announced that she is handing over $125,000 from her office budget to the three police divisions in her district. Local commanders will decide how to allocate the money, which Galanter said came from savings gained through staffing cutbacks in the last two years.
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