A San Fernando Valley neighborhood is clashing with the City of Los Angeles over 24/7 security signs the community posted to deter crime.
A video from Monday showed city workers taking down some of the warnings that were posted under street signs.
“We haven’t had a robbery or a car theft since we’ve had these cameras and these signs,” resident Debbie Stopeck said. “They are deterrents for us.”
Stopeck said the signs have significantly reduced crime over the last two years. The neighbors had the same fight with the city back in February but the signs were allowed to stay.
“The reason we put them on city poles is because they will be where people can see them,” Stopeck said. “If we put them on somebody’s property, a house, nobody’s going to see it when they drive by. The most effective way to see it is where your headlights hit or your line of vision is at.”
Stopeck said that after a string of burglaries, she met with the Los Angeles Police Department to talk about what could be done to increase security in their neighborhood. She said an officer suggested they look into Flock security cameras for the neighborhood.
While Flock is best known for its controversial use by law enforcement agencies, citizens can install their own on private property.
The city of LA terminated its own contract with Flock over the summer.
Some neighbors who spoke with CBS LA but did not want to be identified said they worry about the information the cameras collect.
Councilmember Adrin Nazarian said that the signs did not adhere to city regulations by being posted on public property but added that “neither I nor my staff were notified in advance that yet another department would remove them.”
“They impounded all of our signs, 22 signs,” Stopeck said. “Why? Where are they hurting somebody?”
Stopeck said the recorded footage is only used to help investigate crimes in their neighborhood. She and neighbors who support the cameras and the signs said it’s a matter of public safety.
“We need whatever we can do to set up a deterrent here. These signs were a definite deterrent,” neighbor Dan Levy said. “They were protecting the area. I don’t know why they would even consider taking them down.”