“Crime Drops and Safety Improves in Venice after Removal of Homeless Encampments”

For the first time in years, Venice resident Kaaren Kitchell isn’t afraid to walk the few blocks from her house for a workout at Gold’s Gym.

“I feel totally safe now, walking in Venice, at any time,” Kitchell told our sister network NBC4.

That’s because in the first three months of this year, LAPD data shows crime has dropped in that part of Venice. It comes at the same time that dozens of homeless tents that lined the sidewalks for years in the neighborhood around Gold’s are gone.

“I thought it was useless. I never expected to see the sidewalks free of tents,” Kitchell added.

The cleanup of the Venice encampments began in early January, when the new Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, launched her “Inside Safe” program to dismantle the encampments and get the homeless off the streets.

Teams of community workers provided services and motel rooms to people living in tents on 3rd Street and Hampton Drive in Venice, then removed the tents and cleaned up the streets.

“People feel safer since the tents are gone,” said George Francisco, a Venice resident and business owner.

Some Long Beach residents are upset after authorities announced they will use a park hymn as a temporary shelter for the homeless.

Safer because overall crime is down so far where there used to be encampments.

According to the LAPD, crime in the neighborhood around the former 3rd Street and Hampton Drive encampments was down nearly 24 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to a year ago.

Even more dramatic is the drop in crime around the world famous Venice Boardwalk, where there were some 200 tents at one point. Those stores are gone.

The first quarter of this year saw a nearly 48 percent drop in crime from the same period last year, according to LAPD crime statistics obtained by the I-Team.

The I-Team has previously reported that, in many cases, the homeless themselves were the victims of the crimes. A big reason why Mayor Bass worked to relocate them to safer housing.

Venice residents who spoke to NBC4 hope that everyone, homeless and homeless, is safer now.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m not sure Venice will stay tent-free,” says business owner George Francisco.

“I think the city of Los Angeles has not shown that it can sustain a sustained effort to work interdepartmentally to provide some basic services, whether it’s to the homeless or to the residents,” Francisco told NBC4.