BCJI in Action

SITE OVERVIEW  ♦  LOS ANGELES | CALIFORNIA

Neighborhood Profile 

MacArthur Park is in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, one of the poorest and densest areas of the city, an entrepreneurial, largely Central American immigrant community. Located in the Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the 32-acre park has many assets, including a renovated turf soccer field, picnic tables and a children’s playground. However, it also is the site of much of the violent crime in the Rampart Division, especially micro hotspots such as the four park corners, each claimed by a different gang, adjacent apartment complexes and a local liquor store.

The Rampart Division saw an increase in violent crime by 40 percent from 2014 to 2015, and while overall violent crime decreased 3.75 percent from 2015 to 2016, the number of homicides doubled from 11 to 22. In a 2017 MacArthur Park Safety Committee meeting, residents noted that park infrastructure facilitates criminal behavior, such as drug use and illicit sexual behavior in Alvarado/6th Street restrooms and narcotic use at benches and tables.

MacArthur Park and the surrounding community is in the LA Promise Zone, where the Youth Policy Institute (YPI) and partners in the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) project spent three years building a place-based, community-oriented strategy to revitalize Central LA. YPI is spearheading related revitalization initiatives in the zone, including housing and education initiatives funded by Choice Neighborhood and Promise Neighborhood awards. In 2016, YPI was awarded a second Promise Neighborhood grant, which serves eight schools immediately adjacent to the BCJI area.

Planning Process

The BCJI research partner, Justice & Security Strategies (JSS), will have a lead role in developing the problem description and be responsible for liaising with the Los Angeles Police Department to collect, analyze and map crime data, develop solutions, and lead resident focus groups, systematic social observations and park participant counts. YPI will host community engagement and capacity building workshops. These activities are aimed at three main goals:

Reduce Part 1 crime in LAPD Reporting Districts 245, 246, 256, and 265. In and around MacArthur Park the LAPD will use Los Angeles' Strategic Extraction and Restoration (LASER), an evidence-based approach which targets addresses with the most calls for service with additional enforcement and prevention tactics. The LAPD will create a situation room in the park, and the City Attorney Neighborhood Prosecutor will target problem properties with civil nuisance abatements.

Activate MacArthur Park to attract “natural guardians” as deterrents to illegal activities. The Los Angeles City Recreation & Parks Department  and other partners will increase programmed activities and total weekly program hours, with programs facilitated by staff trained in trauma-informed coaching. The program will seek funds for new and upgraded recreational facilities and support the creation of a MacArthur Park Business Improvement District.

Have MacArthur Park’s physical design and maintenance demonstrate a community

investment in the park and attracts park users. The BCJI team will use crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles to replace infrastructure that presents risk factors with design elements that provide protective factors, such as additional lighting, security cameras and landscape elements that deter homeless encampments. The team will help increase park maintenance to improve cleanliness and implement one annual beautification project.

Other Key Partners

Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Attorney, Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health, MacArthur Park Advisory Board, Los Angeles City Recreation & Parks Department, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles LISC, Koreatown Youth & Community Center, Heart of LA, Central City Neighborhood Partners, Up2Us Sports and Bresee Youth Center

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