Letter: Safety Should Be City Hall's No. 1 Priority

The stabbings at the Galleria and the beating death on Pacific Coast Highway and Avenue F heightened my concerns about cuts to public safety staffing in Redondo Beach.

I know City Hall faces financial constraints caused by the past few years of economic turmoil. But police department staffing levels have fallen below the national average for communities of our size. We can’t allow this to continue.

The safety of our residents, schools, and businesses must remain City Hall’s first priority.

I attended a coffee for a city council candidate who invited Redondo Beach Fire Captain Isaac Yang and Redondo Beach Detective Carlborg to update us on their departments. These articulate gentlemen put a human face on the risky consequences to you and me if we fail to address staffing cuts.

They also spoke about long, exhausting shifts in downsized departments staffed by personnel who have already taken salary cuts to help the community. They explained how the departments are forced to operate on overtime shifts because of limited staffing numbers; it is not how they want to operate.

I want to thank Kimberly Fine, a City Council candidate in District 1, who invited us to meet Officers Carlborg and Yang. I hope the community will follow her lead in rebuilding the robust public safety team our city must have to thrive.

Elaine Cherlin
Redondo Beach

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