I have lived in Glendale my whole life. I take pride in the safety, cleanliness and beauty of my city, and as of recently, it seems like our local government does not have the same interests.
On Aug. 8, one of the city’s most tourist-filled areas, the Americana on Brand, experienced a terrible robbery in which YSL was ransacked by a group of 30 criminals. In an article on KTLA, the Glendale Police Department said that they have decided to create the Organized Retail Crime Task Force to combat similar situations in the future. While this may seem like a good idea, we are ignoring the present problem. The Americana is a place where families come to enjoy a relaxing Sunday. A place where children go with their friends to enjoy the AMC movie theater, to go shopping, or to eat lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. What we really need is more security to actually prevent instances like the one we have experienced, rather than police to show up after the fact.
Instead of honing in on just a “retail task force,” we simply need more protection for the citizens of Glendale. Over the past few months, there has been a huge surge in not only retail robberies but also in residential robberies. Why are so focused on having the GPD roaming side streets making sure people use their turn signals, rather than focusing on the armed robberies that have directly impacted the lives of dozens.
We need to direct our energy where it matters: The safety and wellbeing of our citizens through an increase of security.
Savannah Mendelsohn
Glendale
First published in the February 10 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
