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Sheriff reports steep drops in many part-one crimes; city rolls out ShotSpotter, plate readers and a BEAST team
Summary
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lakewood Station and Bellflower public safety staff told the council they've seen year-over-year declines in several major crimes and outlined expanded technology and outreach: ShotSpotter alerts, 40 license-plate readers, a FAST transport deputy pilot and a five-day BEAST homeless response team. Officials said quality-of-life calls remain a staffing challenge.
Captain Hogen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told the Bellflower City Council the department's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) figures show decreases in several categories in the most recent annual comparison and the first four months of 2026.
"Our homicides had a decrease of 60% — five in 2024 and two last year," Captain Hogen said, and later added that overall part-one crimes were down roughly 9.5% for the year and about 28% for the first four months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. He cautioned that some categories rose: reported rapes increased from 18 to 26, and larceny/theft rose about 8%.
Brian, the city's public safety lead, said the department is balancing emergent calls with quality-of-life enforcement and offered three operational responses the city has already adopted or expanded: a FAST transport deputy pilot to keep patrol officers in the field, ShotSpotter acoustic detection in a roughly two-square-mile coverage area that produced 23 positive alerts so far, and a 40-camera license-plate-reader deployment the city calls Plate Ranger.
"Of the 23 ShotSpotter alerts, only 27% had corresponding 911 calls," Brian said, arguing that the sensors can reveal otherwise unreported shootings and help detectives identify evidence and places to search for shell casings.
Officials emphasized the limits of local authority: Captain Hogen and Brian repeatedly said violent incidents and complex investigations can take officers away from routine and quality-of-life calls, and that residents' use of online reporting tools could free patrol capacity.
Council members pressed for additional data during Q&A: Mayor Prom Sanchez asked for counts of traffic enforcement citations from a recent pilot (a sergeant supplied the numbers: 146 moving violations and about 47 parking citations), and others asked for future reports on robbery closures and case clearance rates.
On homelessness the city's BEAST (Bellflower Enforcement and Safety Team) — a multi-agency team including public works and outreach partners — was credited with connecting 17 people to services and issuing 45 criminal citations for unlawful camping since December 2025. City staff said BEAST focuses on both outreach and cleanup and will be supplemented by talks with Kingdom Causes for additional outreach services.
What's next: staff said they will promote online and virtual reporting tools to reduce patrol burden, return the FAST transport deputy beginning May 3, and continue to evaluate expanding ShotSpotter coverage based on need and cost. Councilmembers asked for future reports to include clearance rates for robberies and other crimes as well as continuing data on the technology's effectiveness.
Ending: The presentation closed with agreement to keep public outreach high and to return with follow-up data on response times, crime clearances and technology impacts.
