{"id":52124,"date":"2025-11-14T00:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/52124\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T00:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:37:13","slug":"belmont-shores-late-night-safety-concerns-turns-into-citywide-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/52124\/","title":{"rendered":"Belmont Shore\u2019s late night safety concerns turns into citywide discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"

An item originally focused on late night safety concerns in Belmont Shore has resulted in a citywide study on gun violence, after an uneasy back and forth at Tuesday\u2019s city council meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmember Kristina Duggan, who represents the Belmont Shore corridor in East Long Beach, asked for a late night safety plan for her district following its third deadly shooting in the last 18 months. On Oct. 25, Long Beach resident Jeremy Spears was shot and killed<\/a> by a man and a woman following an altercation at a bar on Second Street, according to police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The immediate reaction was to crack down on nightlife in Belmont Shore, which residents say has gotten more intense in recent years. Two other people have been killed after leaving bars in Belmont Shore in the last 18 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A parklet lines the street outside of Rakkan Ramen on 2nd Street in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach on Dec. 7, 2021. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

Bars and nightclubs along Second Street have agreed to a 30-day midnight, curfew rather than the typical 2 a.m. closing time, while the City creates a long-term plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning I said I wanted this time to be different,\u201d Duggan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had three homicides in less than 18 months on Second Street and I didn\u2019t want just a few weeks of increased police presence and then go back to the same situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a permanent earlier closing time is still a possibility, the majority of Duggan\u2019s proposals so far rely on a heavier police presence in Belmont Shore. The City is considering increasing walking patrols, reactivating a police sub-station, holding more DUI checkpoints surrounding the corridor and targeting \u201cnuisance issues\u201d like public drinking and unauthorized vendors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Long Beach Chief of Police Wally Hebeish said police are already working overtime in order to patrol the city at all times. As of now, the four divisions of Long Beach (east, north, west and south) have the same amount of officers patrolling. According to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), officers responded to the shooting on Oct. 25 within two minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the mayor\u2019s vision of becoming an entertainment destination, [with the] upcoming FIFA and Olympics, we\u2019ll be welcoming a lot of people, international people, to Belmont Shore and to Long Beach,\u201d said Belmont Shore Business Association President Heather Kearn. \u201cWe need a strong coordinated plan for community safety, one that protects our neighborhoods, our visitors and small businesses that make our city thrive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmembers Push for Citywide Study<\/p>\n

Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, who represents District 9 in North Long Beach, pointed out there have been 11 violent murders in her district this year alone. As a result, she asked that Duggan\u2019s suggestions be tweaked to address violent crime citywide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to police data, there have been 30% less murders in Long Beach than last year, and 35% less shootings in the same timeframe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thrash-Ntuk made four recommendations to shift the proposed motion from a Belmont Shore-specific plan to a citywide lens:\u00a0<\/p>\n

A feasibility analysis for more walking beats citywide, not just focusing on Belmont Shore, so the City can identify \u201chigh need public safety hotspots.\u201d The goal of this would be to see which areas of the city have high levels of violent crime and would benefit from more police presence in the form of walking beats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The original motion focuses on bars and nightclubs. Thrash-Ntuk\u2019s request is for the motion to look at all alcohol-serving establishments, smoke-related institutions and liquor stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the data compiled, Thrash-Ntuk asked the City to examine how to assign resources \u201cequitably,\u201d so they go to the areas of highest need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thrash-Ntuk said the \u201cdata shows that peak times [of violent crimes] are different\u201d throughout the City; Belmont Shore\u2019s peak times are when the bars and nightclubs close. Her recommendation is for the City to look at peak hours across the city, not just around 2 a.m. \u201cto create a holistic safety plan \u2026 not just late night bars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Third district Councilmember Kristina Duggan gives her remarks at the Long Beach Terrace Theater during the inauguration ceremony on Dec. 20, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

To meet the expansion of her requests, she requested a report back in 90 days, rather than the original 45-day plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought this item forward because it\u2019s specific to Belmont Shore. I love your recommendations, but that might be something that could be brought separately,\u201d Duggan said, as residents from Belmont Shore, nearly half of them being business owners in that area, clapped in support. \u201cThis is for my district and as I said from the beginning, each of us, each of our offices focuses on specific issues in our district and this is an issue in my district. I respect when ABC [alcohol sale] licenses come up in different districts \u2026 and respectfully defer to that councilmember.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duggan declined all of Thrash-Ntuk\u2019s requests, drawing more cheers from the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of what you\u2019re asking is a level of dedicated resources that then impacts other parts of the city,\u201d Thrash-Ntuk responded. Duggan insisted that she\u2019s only asking for a report back, and Thrash-Ntuk pointed out that she\u2019s also only asking for a report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Duggan again declined Thrash-Ntuk\u2019s request. Councilmember Suely Saro, who represents district 6, said she agreed with Thrash-Ntuk that the item should be recognized as a citywide issue, and wouldn\u2019t support the item without Thrash-Ntuk\u2019s revisions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Long Beach District 6 City Councilperson, Suely Saro, speaks during the July 6, 2021 council meeting. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cBy doing a study in Belmont Shore, it doesn\u2019t bar us from being able to do a study that\u2019s more comprehensive around data. I think that would make not just residents in Belmont Shore feel safe, but all of us in our surrounding districts,\u201d Saro said.<\/p>\n

District 1 Councilmember Mary Zendejas also voiced her agreement with Thrash-Ntuk, and asked Hebeish how the LBPD allocates police patrols. Hebeish said it\u2019s based on crime data, workload capacity, demographics and population density within a community. As of now, police patrols are divided evenly among the four divisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zendejas pointed out that her district in downtown Long Beach has had three deaths due to gun violence in the last eight months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the same concerns so that\u2019s why I absolutely agree [with Thrash-Ntuk] because everyone should be feeling safe,\u201d Zendejas said. She made another motion to add Thrash-Ntuk\u2019s requests back in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Richardson made yet another motion to essentially combine the two: a report specifically on Belmont Shore to return to city council in 45 days, and a citywide report to return to city council in 90 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I have to say I\u2019m disappointed, but we\u2019re going to collaborate on this and have a report back because I\u2019m always looking out, as you all know, I work for the good of the city as well as my district,\u201d Duggan said, though she still supported the revised motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SamanthaSamantha DiazManaging Editor<\/p>\n

Samantha is an award-winning journalist, sports fanatic and mother. She\u2019s worked for the Signal Tribune for over three years and is passionate about covering environmental news, small businesses, mutual aid efforts and resources. <\/p>\n

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