LYNWOOD — Residents who live at the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue were surprised on Saturday to see city officials and sheriff’s deputies at the unveiling of a brand new surveillance camera in their area.

The new camera is the 27th one to go up within the city’s 4.5 square miles.

“The sign isn’t just a ‘Smile You’re in Lynwood’ sign, it’s a welcome sign,” said a resident who lives at one of the three multifamily units along Santa Fe. “Crime in this area has been so so bad and we’ve been waiting for something like this for years. It makes me want to cry just thinking that the Sheriff’s Department will be literally watching my back when I walk down the street. I know some people won’t like it, but I already feel safer.”

The cameras are located throughout the city, with 15 of them lining Long Beach Boulevard. One of them is placed on the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and Burton Avenue, which farther west turns into El Segundo Boulevard.

Location of the cameras are based on crime statistics, said Lt. Ernie Chavez of the Century Sheriff’s Station, when asked how it was possible that a surveillance camera could be erected in a residential neighborhood.

“This is an area where violent crimes and general crimes occur often,” he said. “It is one of the more problematic areas we have in the area.”

Research of the area’s crime statistics proved that the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue, was the most useful place for the city’s 27th camera.

The Century Sheriff’s Station also patrols the Willowbrook area, Walnut Park, part of Athens, and the Florence/Firestone area. There are several surveillance cameras in those areas, too, said Chavez. South Gate, which has its own police department, also has its own surveillance cameras.

“The cameras are not a solve-it-all solution to crime,” Chavez said. “But they do deter crime, they can help in solving crimes, and they do help prevent them.”
The camera in question also rests at an intersection that is used to go to and from Compton, Chavez said.

The intersection is not just a residential area. There are a couple of small businesses and El Segundo Boulevard turns into a major thoroughfare, he said.
Santa Fe Avenue is also a good-sized thoroughfare.

“The location is something we look at, and depending on the crime statistics of that location, that’s how we determined this area needed it,” he said.

While members of the community and their needs come first, it also takes resources to put up cameras.

At the intersection, there are three different apartment complexes, Chavez said. Those complexes appear to have been redone and are under new management and ownership. They are very happy with the camera going up, Chavez said.

A press conference was held on Saturday to tell the community that the camera was going to be going up. That camera will obviously help keep those complexes safe, along with putting a dent on the high number of car burglaries that happen in that area, he said.

School board member Rachel Chavez said that she loves the idea of surveillance cameras going up in residential areas, considering some streets are said to still be consumed by crime, gangs and drugs.

“We have to admit that this is a horrible hateful world and that bad things happen all the time,” she said. “Those cameras along Long Beach Boulevard have helped this community tremendously. Even if it means having to give up a little bit of your privacy, it’s better to feel safe in your own home.”

The city’s surveillance camera system and partnership with the Sheriff’s Department, was extremely popular with people from around the country at the annual All-America City’s Award Ceremony in Kansas City, Lt. Chavez said.

“It’s a great tool to have,” he said. “It’s a deterrent and it does solve a lot of things. … It’s a great tool for locating crimes. When we get calls, our deputies are able to watch the crimes unfold on camera while patrol units get there, we can watch what callers are describing instantly… so there is absolutely no delay in the process.”

According to City Manager Roger Haley, the surveillance cameras along Long Beach Boulevard have been instrumental in curtailing the prostitution problem that used to exist there.

“The city relies on the sheriff’s intelligence and crime analysis when it comes to deciding where to put up the cameras,” Haley said. “Wherever the sheriff’s deem them necessary, that’s where the cameras will go.”

The cameras would be permitted in any area throughout the community if residents and resources allowed for them. It always boils down to resources of course, but if the sheriff’s crime analysis says one area really needs the cameras, then when resources become available, then that area will be considered.

Along with deputies on patrol, the surveillance cameras have not only mitigated the prostitution problem along Long Beach Boulevard, but over at Yvonne Burke/Ham Park, the cameras have also helped in the apprehension and conviction of graffiti vandals.