Safe Schools Initiatives
Protecting Children, Safeguarding
Education
The City Attorney believes that schools absolutely must be a safe
haven for children. As a result, the Office has recently announced
two groundbreaking initiatives to ensure the safety of all children
throughout the day.
The Initiatives
Safe School Zones – With City Attorney Delgadillo’s
recommendation, the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) declared every school in the district a Safe School
Zone, subjecting any person committing a crime in this
area to stiffer penalties. The initiative also gives school
officials, law enforcement and LAUSD security the power
to ensure that only enrolled students or those with official
school business are allowed onto school grounds.
LA SAVES – City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo stands
firm in his commitment to stopping gun violence near schools,
so, in conjunction with the Safe School Zones, Delgadillo
launched LA SAVES – “Los Angeles Strategy Against
Violent Environments near Schools.”
How They Work
Safe School Zones – Under the program, bus stops
and all areas within 1,000 feet around the school are now
considered violence-free zones. The proposal allows school
administrators, school police and local law enforcement
to require any individual whose presence or acts interfere
with the conduct of education to leave immediately or be
arrested. The initiative also subjects violent offenders
with prior criminal records to progressive penalties for
new offenses. A first violation will result in up to an
additional six months in jail and a $500 fine added to
the sentence on the original charge.
LA SAVES – Partnering with the LAPD and LA County
Probation Office, Delgadillo’s Gun Violence Unit
works to identify and pursue armed offenders and those
who have been convicted of offenses involving firearms
who currently live near schools. LA SAVES will bring regular
inspections to school communities in order to remove dangerous
convicted criminals who fail to show up for hearings, or
are found to have other conviction and/or probation problems.
Why They Matter
When children are unable to study because their minds
are focused on outside danger then we have failed them.
Similarly, our school grounds should always be a safe haven
for our children and now, the neighborhoods surrounding
our schools will be safer as well. By designating our schools
as “Safe School Zones” and by implementing
LA SAVES, we send a powerful message to the community that
we will not tolerate crime in and around our schools. In
its first year, the LA SAVES program has resulted in the
arrest of 46 felons, many of those being known gang members,
the rescue and the rescue of 49 children, as well as the
confiscation of narcotics, weapons, and hundreds of rounds
of ammunition.
