As attacks against religious communities continue to rise with no end in sight, Blumenfield partnered with many of his City Council colleagues to work on a measure instructing the LAPD to develop proactive tools to protect vulnerable institutions and prevent violence motivated by hate. The number of reported hate crimes rose by 10.3% in 2019 alone and continues to rise every year.
The City Council passed the report in early 2020 and the LAPD recommendations include creating proactive measures to both protect vulnerable institutions like synagogues, mosques and cultural centers, as well as increased prevention, outreach, and information sharing. This report instructs the LAPD to report back on establishing a Citywide communications tool that would serve as a single point of contact for critical incident coordination, as well as a central hotline for proactive hate crime prevention. The approved legislation also seeks to expand the victim’s assistance website with more languages and a broader array of resources for Los Angeles’ diverse communities, and offer LAPD security assessments to vulnerable institutions.
Now more than ever, law enforcement needs to work hand-in-hand with the community and ensure that they can rapidly connect with faith groups whenever support or a criminal investigation is needed.