ccAh-h-h Fame...

The other day, I got an e-mail from a national reporter, who will remain anonymous, asking for a statement on the 'Safer Cities Initiative'
and continued by saying "…the reporter was hoping I was going to make a much grander effort to stir up the LAPD in Skid Row."

Flattered to be contacted by such a reporter, but very confused by any reference to LAPD and not having a clue what the 'Safer Cities' thing is, curiosity drove me to tap my keyboard, and I sent a reply e-mail
to admit my confusion.

I did have a slight recollection of a couple of TV news stories on the safer cities a few months ago. I knew it was a mayor-and-police effort and involved the pervasiveness and the regularity of drug use and 'homeless' in the Skid Row and eastside area. But the "why" of his contacting me was an even bigger puzzle.

So Fleeting....

With his almost immediate response, it all became crystal clear. He thought me to be Ms. Ramona RIPSTON the executive director, of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. That would be the ACLU. He explained he was a writer for an evangelical publication and had tracked me down when someone in his office had stumbled upon a former column on the Internet.

Before I wrote back to him to explain the mistaken identity, I decided to do just a bit of research to update my very limited knowledge of what he was requesting of me, well, actually the other Ramona.

I have lived in Downtown Los Angeles long enough to be aware of drug use, homelessness, encampments and the unhealthy, unsanitary and unsafe conditions brought right along with them. Lived here long enough to have experienced the desperation of the lonely and the forsaken and the mentally ill. Long enough to have witnessed homeless women feeding their children rotting food from a restaurant dumpster. Long enough to see sex exchanged for as little as a toke of a pipe or, my god, a sip of wine or a fresh cigarette. And in the last few years the ever-increasing visibility of drug sales and drug use had escalated it all to epidemic proportions.

So Misplaced...

All of this exacerbated by the unknowing folks from all parts of Los Angeles anxious to be of service to the less fortunate of human kind by handing out tents and food served from the backs of SUVs at street corners throughout Skid Row. Little do they know that as they drive back to their homes feeling better about their work, the turnaround value for a tent, a blanket, a pair of new shoes was a drug fix.

So my research brought me to this information: the Los Angeles Safer Cities (which had been successful in other cities) started in September 2006, much inspired by Dr. George Kelling & Catherine Coles's book "Fixing Broken Windows," where the then NYC police chief Wm. Bratton, with much success, cleaned up Times Square and other parts of New York City. Now L.A., Police Chief Bratton, with much controversy, along with the Councilwoman Jan Perry, (whose 9th Council District covers a good part of Skid Row) were able to work with the Mayor and the rest of the City Council to deploy 50 additional specially trained officers to the Skid Row and Central City East area.

The focus of the 'Safer Cities Initiative' was to confront all and every single lawbreaking measure. Not just the drug use, drug sales and prostitution, but everything right down to encampments, jay walking, illegal vending. The Safer Cities also included tree trimming and street light replacement. Added to all this, the District Attorney, Steve Cooley, initiated a program where some parolees were prohibited from returning to the 5th Street area under threat of immediate arrest.

So after about an hour into my Googling and Yahooing, I was very excited that my inquiring journalist would have me confused with a make-things-happen-ACLU-powerhouse.

So Fickle...

I next Googled my mistaken namesake, Ms. Ripston, only to find she opposes any of these efforts. In fact, in a letter to the Los Angeles Times she calls Skid Row a 'police state' and wants LAPD to 'stop detaining homeless for minor infractions such as jaywalking' (in 2006, four out of six traffic deaths in the Central Division were caused by pedestrians in the street and all three traffic deaths so far in 2007) stop aggressive policing, and accuses the LAPD of not upholding the 4th amendment concerning illegal search and seizures. Her position seems to
be protect the 'less fortunate' and to hell with everyone else.

Ms. Ripston's L A Times letter garnered a response from LAPD Central Division's Commanding Officer, Captain Andrew Smith who mentions Ripston's visit to Skid Row last year and how horrified she was by what she saw. He also mentions the 3,800 parolees, 300+ sex offenders, convicted murderers, rapists and robbers who call Skid Row home and the efforts to control the lawlessness. "…the LAPD will continue to protect the weak and the vulnerable on Skid Row, and end the culture of lawlessness."

In my next and final e-mail to this national reporter I revealed his mistake in the similar name identity and cleared my name of any and all connections to the other Ramona. Ms. Ripston has been the So Cal ACLU Executive Director since 1972, that's 35 years and counting.

Many battles over the years have been true, but this one seems greatly off-center.

Ramona Crimson

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