New Rampart LAPD Station Opens; Revives L.A. Neighborhood

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Just a few days ago you read in the newspapers that crime is down to an historic low-a fact that both [LAPD Chief Bratton] and I have been talking about for some time. Not since 1956 have we seen crime levels this low on a per capita basis-I was three years old back then. Not since 1970 have homicides been down to current levels, and not since 1967 has the city had a summer with homicides as low as they were this summer.

The good people of Los Angeles supported Measure 2 (LAPD Facilities Bond) because they recognize that we need to continue this trend. We need to continue to reclaim neighborhoods like Rampart, like the neighborhoods and communities that make up the Rampart Division. We need to make sure that crime continues to go down, because as I hear so often from neighbors here in the Rampart Division, on the Southside, on the Eastside, and in the northeast part of The Valley, one homicide is too many, particularly homicides where the victims were innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Don't think for a moment that giving the police force of this city the kind of resources that they need here aren't important. It is. The people of this city understand that, and so now we have state of the art facilities, like here at Rampart. We have to continue to grow more. We have to continue to grow this police department. We're five hundred net strong in the last three years. That's still not good enough. We're going to grow this department by a thousand by 2010. Next year we'll meet the 10,000 mark for the first time in L.A. history, but that won't be good enough. We have to invest in the department if we want to continue to reclaim our neighborhoods.

Let me say something about the other components of reclaiming the neighborhood. When you give someone a job, you give education and hope. There's something about hope that rings eternal in all of us. There's something about a job-the respect and the dignity that come with that-that makes people want to participate and be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

We started out three years ago with 2,500 summer youth jobs. This year there are 15,000 summer jobs for kids, giving them an alternative to being in the streets. There is a gang reduction program, run by the Reverend Jeff Carr, a very humble man, who helped to really do some incredible things. You've read about our Summer Night Lights program, where we took eight parks, expanded the programming, brought in parents and families, and experienced a 20 percent drop in crime over the area of those parks. Those are the kinds of things we have to continue to do. We need to give our police department the resources they need, invest in people, and educate on alternatives. You'll be surprised what a city can do to reclaim this neighborhood.

I want to acknowledge the men and women in blue; I want to acknowledge the City Council, Councilmember Reyes, Council President Eric Garcetti, and Councilmember LaBonge. When Mayor Jim Hahn hired Chief Bratton six years ago, he hired the right man at the right time for the city. We have enjoyed the continuing decrease in crime every year, and yet, we all know, it's still not enough.

Together we have to continue to work on growing our police department and fighting the root causes of crime. If you are not dealing with poverty, jobs, and education, you aren't acknowledging all that needs to be done. I want to acknowledge our Police Commission as well. The other day someone asked me why the city is safer today. I said, "Because we probably have the most aggressive civil rights- and human rights-orientated police commission in L.A. history-one that makes sure, like Chief Bratton, that there is no contradiction in being tough on crime but also collaborating and cooperating with the community, respecting the community." That's what it's all about. Today's a great day. It's not just a celebration of the new building; it's the celebration of hope for this community.

LAPD Chief William Bratton: The word "Rampart" comes from the French word remparer, which means, "to fortify." The root of that word , amparer, means, "to take possession, to re-take possession." I think that is a fitting analogy for this station. Certainly we're better than we were ten years ago as a community, department, and a station...

...Today, in opening the door of this station, we turn a new page, and we take possession once again of that word "Rampart" and of this place. We take possession of the department, so the men and women who wear the uniform can do so with pride and enthusiasm again. We do it because the community can trust the department to look after its people, to look after its city, and to look after the communities and the neighborhoods that it represents. We come back together today to take possession again of our city through this incredible building.

We have a place to grow-a place of incredible architecture and engineering, but it's also a place of flesh and blood, of the men and women who protect us, who put their lives on the line and serve as a reminder of how much more work we have to do. We celebrate the amazing work of this community and police department-to celebrate that we have the lowest crime level in years. We have worked hard: our deputy mayor, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Ed Reyes, Tom LaBonge, and myself.

Those who go out to the families who have to bury their young-we see how much more work we have to do. These homicide rates are still worrying me; they are too high. Women still feel that on some blocks they cannot walk home safely in their neighborhood. We go out to the same apartments time and time again because of the domestic violence that occurs there.

We see here this open station-an open department-committed to the best technology, the best training, and the best people in the world, together with the community, to make sure that there is nobody that feels unsafe, nobody who has to bury a young person, and nobody who will have to see another crime committed in their neighborhood. The council president and I are working with my colleagues and the mayor to ensure that this is the safest city in America. We must all come together to recognize that our partners are the people sitting right next to us right now.

If you were up here on this stage and you saw this marvelous vision of Los Angeles as I do now, you would know that the answer isn't out there on the streets, it's right here underneath this tent. The state of the art facilities that we have here are a reminder of what we can do when we believe in this great city. We can turn a new page on Rampart and we can turn a new page for the city of Los Angeles.

City Council President Eric Garcetti: It gives me great pleasure to be here with everybody at the opening of the Rampart Police Station. I want to thank Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilmember Tom LaBonge. I want to thank President Pacheco and the entire police commission, as well as Chief Bratton, who has done an extraordinary job with the men and women of the police department.

I want to single out my colleague Ed Reyes. The current Rampart Station, until a couple of days ago, was still in the 13th Council District, which I have the pleasure of representing. Now it has moved to the 1st Council District and it couldn't be in better hands. Ed Reyes has laid the foundation for what we literally, as well as figuratively, inhabit here today. He laid the foundation in this neighborhood.

I came into the world two blocks away from here at the Good Samaritan Hospital and I know how tough the years have been for community members. Block by block, we have taken to the streets-pulling clergy and neighbors together, students and parents and teachers-and now we see the marvelous neighborhood that we have, with people walking safely. The low crime level in the area is really something to celebrate. Let's give Councilmember Reyes another round of applause.