A violent weekend in Compton left four dead and now Compton City Council members are calling for more action to combat the violence.
The city of Compton has already seen eleven murders this year, nine of them gang-related. That compares to four for the same period in 2015.
Just last Tuesday the City Council was discussing the maintenance of the city’s surveillance cameras placed around the city. The council discussed the lack of regular maintenance of the cameras and entertained the possibility of purchasing new ones, but despite a heated discussion, no action was taken.
“I’ve been pressing city management to move faster to make sure that the city-wide cameras are working as they should and they are being monitored,” said Councilmember Janna Zurita. “One of the city’s most important jobs is to keep our people safe. We need to do better.”
L.A. County Sheriff’s Captain Michael Thatcher says the cameras are an important crime prevention tool that can also improve policing.
“Functioning cameras help us investigate crimes and potentially help hold all of us, those of us in law enforcement and in the community, accountable for our actions,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important that the maintenance on these cameras be upgraded soon.”
As for the increase in violence, Cpt. Thatcher said there’s no one reason that the gang activity has suddenly become more violent this year and said he’s putting significant resources in investigating not only the crimes themselves but also why the violence seems to be increasing.
Councilmember Tana McCoy echoed her colleagues’ concern that the city wasn’t doing enough fast enough.
“For our city, public safety is of the highest priority. I have communicated that again this week to our city management,” she said.
Compton city officials haven’t yet put a price on what it will take to upgrade maintenance and replace cameras that no longer work.
For Pastor Michael Fisher of the Greater Zion Church Family, this violence is a painful reminder. His youth pastor Oscar Duncan was shot and killed in 2012. He thinks Council Members Zurita and McCoy are on the right track in pushing the city to invest in getting the cameras properly maintained and monitored by the city. His concerns go even deeper than that.
“The issue of violence in our community is a front line concern for us,” he said. “The lack of value for life and the adoption of a degrading lifestyle among some of our young people are issues we must face head on and immediately. “
For Councilmember Zurita, who is Compton born and bred, the time to act is now.
“This is no time for politics or waiting. Our city is hurting. It’s a time for action. We need to invest in public safety immediately. To wait is unacceptable.”
