Ignoring the Evidence of Crime in the Valley

Visions of Valley girls and Beverly Hills opulence come to mind at the mention of the San Fernando Valley. What most people fail to realize is that murder, drug dealing, prostitution and domestic violence have long existed in this perceived paradise.

Life is a constant struggle to survive in Pacoima, Panorama City, Sun Valley, Van Nuys and especially the Sepulveda corridor known as North Hills.

North Hills was renamed from Sepulveda to flee the stigma of crime. But there is no escape.

It is a war, but invisible to those who do not live here. Denial in the outside sector is high, and backs have been turned to our plight. We are treated like parasites in society, ignored or brushed aside as insignificant.

I thought of this on my way to Monday’s City Council meeting to discuss a bond issue for the establishment of new police stations in the mid-Wilshire and mid-Valley districts. An open forum had been called to discern the extent of public support. The issue will be brought before the entire City Council on Tuesday.

The turnout was considerable, but as I walked into the meeting, a council member was advocating a year’s delay to gather more evidence.

I would have laughed at this statement, had the situation not been so pathetically and urgently tragic. Just last Friday night, a man had been brutally murdered across the street from my home. I had intervened in a violent domestic dispute in broad daylight on my way to this very meeting.

I live with this type of situation every day. This is the reality in parts of the Valley. Unfortunately, most council members return to their nice homes, looking the other way because the immediate problem is not in their back yards.

Crime needs action now. We are supported by very few in power. Councilman Richard Alarcon has been a strong advocate. He has lived through this reality with us. Unless more people come to our aid, this disease will spread and grow to monstrous proportions.

PAULA RANGEL North Hills