CommentsRANTZ & RAVEZ-I was watching the national news on Saturday morning November 7 when it flashed across the TV screen that Joe Biden would become the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris would become the first women Vice President of our nation.
The announcement came four days after national ballot counting and much debate between the Democrats and Republicans. While recounts are set to occur in a few states across the country and legal challenges are anticipated in other states, reality tells me that in the end there will be a new Commander-in-Chief of our great military and a new team of elected and appointed officials in charge at the White House in January 2021 for the next four years.
Shortly after the announcement, thousands of people took to the streets across America from Los Angeles to New York. The outpouring of people joined in celebration included dancing in the street, smoking pot (as reported by the news) and celebrating the Democratic campaign victory.
As we move forward as a nation into 2021, we need to come together as Americans to heal any wounds that occurred during the election process. We are always stronger when we work together as Americans.
The roundup of some election propositions.
The following is a list of the 12 California state propositions that passed and my RantZ & RaveZ recommendations. Here is how they stacked up in all of California. At least my preference held sway in half of the time!
Where we are as far as the LAPD Personnel ranks and the Crime Picture in the Homeless, Rat infested and Decaying City of Los Angeles. For the record, Los Angeles is the number two rat-infested city in America, following #1 Chicago.
The October 24, 2020 LA Citywide Crime Profile reflects the following trends:
Total number of sworn LAPD personnel is now at 9,880. This is a reduction of 120 LAPD Officers from the former 10,000 number attained by prior administrations and achieved with hard work by the police department recruitment section and city’s personnel department. It is anticipated that a major reduction of LAPD personnel will occur after January 2021 due to an anticipated large number of retirements. I have heard that many officers including command staff are scheduled to retire after January 1.
What would you expect when Mayor Eric Garcetti calls police officers “killers” and slashes $150 million from the police budget? A reduction that was supported by all but two LA City Council members. At least there are two council members who openly supported LAPD Personnel with their vote against the defunding motion. They are Councilmembers Joe Buscaino from San Pedro and John Lee from the San Fernando Valley.
Chief Michel Moore has stated that homicides are expected to increase to over 300 by the end of the year. There is already a 30% increase in murders compared to last year at the same time period. As of October 24, 2020, Los Angeles reports a total of 268 Homicides in 2020 compared to 217 in 2019. The other interesting crime stat involves GTA. There have been 17,080 car thefts in 2020 compared to 12599 in 2019. That is a 35.6% increase. Is your car locked and secure all the time? If not, think about the consequences for not properly securing your vehicle.
Another interesting statistic concerns arrests. The total number of all arrests are down 27.1% when you compare 2019 to 2020. In raw numbers, 2019 was at 80120 and 2020 is at 58427 arrests.
A new District Attorney has been elected for Los Angeles County.
Jackie Lacey lost her election as the LA County District Attorney. Jackie was professional, experienced, and dedicated to her position as the DA for Los Angeles County. Jackie served in the office for over 30 years.
George Gascon, with major financial support from George Soros, won his election and is the new District Attorney for LA County. LA County is made up of 88 cities including Catalina Island. The District Attorney is the prosecutor for all felony and some misdemeanor crimes in various cities around the County. Every murder and other serious felony crime falls under the jurisdiction of the District Attorney. Gascon is against the Death Penalty and has stated that he will not seek the death penalty in cases that come before him. Gascon does not believe in holding people responsible for their actions and is expected to be a reformer for the Criminal Justice System.
Gascon was behind the 2014 Proposition 47 which reduced punishments for some thefts and drug cases. The result is an emerging lawless society that does not hold people responsible for their criminal actions.
We just celebrated Veterans Day this week
God Bless all our Veterans for the sacrifices they have made for us over the years. Remember to support Veteran Organizations and keep all of them in your prayers.
(Dennis P. Zine is a former and retired LAPD Supervisor, former and retired 12-year Los Angeles City Councilman and current General Manager at Bell Canyon in Ventura County.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
