Sacramento is increasing security patrols in the Lavender Heights district following a series of recent attacks that have raised concerns about safety in the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n
Mayor Kevin McCarty announced Monday that the city is partnering with H-Q Security to provide additional patrols in the district, with the security company providing the service at no cost to the city.<\/p>\n
“Bottom line is that we want these areas to be safe for people who come here,” McCarty said.<\/p>\n
The Lavender Heights district, centered around 20th and K streets, draws thousands of people on Friday and Saturday nights.<\/p>\n
“Thousands of people come here on Friday and Saturday nights and we want them to have a good time, want them to be safe, this is a big part of the economy,” McCarty said.<\/p>\n
H-Q Security already operates patrols in Downtown Sacramento, with at least four patrol vehicles in the area at any given time and as many as eight during peak hours. Some of those patrols will now also focus on Lavender Heights.<\/p>\n
The additional patrols come after two attacks in the Lavender Heights area in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Joseph Sais, a city employee, was beaten by a group that witnesses said shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs during the attack.<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, two women were attacked outside an LGBTQ+ nightclub.<\/p>\n
The incidents prompted community members to organize additional safety efforts.<\/p>\n
Volunteers already patrolling district<\/p>\n
Zachary Basler organizes the Lavender Heights Community Patrol, a recently formed volunteer group that patrols the district on Friday and Saturday nights.<\/p>\n
Volunteers walk people to their cars, wait with people for rides and report crimes when they see them.<\/p>\n
“The more patrols that we have, the less violence there will be,” Basler said.<\/p>\n
Basler said the recent incidents have heightened concerns among people who live, work and spend time in the area.<\/p>\n
“For something to escalate when we had almost six instances in a 14-day period was something everyone was concerned about,” he said.<\/p>\n
Basler said additional patrols are one piece of a broader effort to improve safety. He also wants to see better lighting in parts of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
“The next thing we’re looking at is lighting in the neighborhood,” Basler said. “If we could get some of these darker places lit up with lighting, we know that can create safer neighborhoods and less violence.”<\/p>\n
McCarty said the city has grant money available for additional lighting and is looking at adding more lights specifically in the Lavender Heights district.<\/p>\n
The city has not said when a potential lighting project could begin.<\/p>\n
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