Lawndale council approves pilot public-safety officer position to handle nonemergency calls

The Lawndale City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 18 to approve funding and create a pilot Public Safety Officer position designed to take routine, nonemergency reports off deputy workloads and increase visible community engagement.

City staff presented a revised job description and budget for a municipal Public Safety Officer (previously labeled a community service officer). Staff said the PSO would be a municipal employee, dispatchable by the county when appropriate, unarmed, and trained to take incident and collision reports, handle property-loss and noncriminal matters, and perform high-visibility patrols aimed at preventing escalation. The staff report included a cost breakdown and recommended a pilot hire to allow the city to collect response-time and workload data before any expansion.

Lieutenant Ricky Osbbor of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who delivered the public-safety briefing and participated in the PSO presentation, described how neighboring cities use similar programs. “They’re unarmed… they drive pickup trucks… they’re supposed to engage the community,” he said, explaining that Norwalk’s program pairs early PSO field training with sheriff ride-alongs and gives the PSO a sheriff radio and computer so they can be dispatched to appropriate routine calls.

Residents and community advocates told the council they supported the pilot as a cost-effective way to increase patrol visibility and reduce routine response times. “We provided this letter to you and it’s been signed by several residents of Lawndale,” resident Andrew Blackney told the council, urging the city to coordinate protected bike lanes and related safety measures alongside patrol improvements.

Council members pressed staff on operational issues — where the PSO would be based, how dispatching would work, whether the PSO would carry body cameras, hours of service, and how the public would be introduced to the role. Staff said the PSO would likely be stationed at the municipal-service facility, would be dispatchable by county dispatchers, and that Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. was the recommended deployment window for a single pilot position. Staff and visiting directors from Bellflower and Norwalk said outreach (newsletters, neighborhood-watch introductions, station appearances) would be crucial to build recognition and trust.

After discussion, Councilmember Suarez moved and the council seconded approval of the budget and position; the motion passed unanimously. The council directed staff to return with outreach materials and performance metrics for the pilot so the city can evaluate effectiveness and consider expansion.

Next steps: staff will begin the hiring process for the pilot PSO, coordinate training and radio/computer setup with the sheriff’s office, and present a community-outreach plan and performance milestones to the council.