Report Dubbing Weho a 'High Crime' City Doesn't Faze Mayor

Saying West Hollywood is well known for its active nightlife scene would be an understatement. But that popularity can come at a price.

A recent Los Angeles County Department of Public Health study found that West Hollywood has the highest concentration of on-premise drinking establishments and is the 13th worst community for violent, alcohol-related crime in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Although those statistics may sound like cause for alarm, not everyone sees it that way.

“When you’re looking at a city like West Hollywood, Las Vegas or Atlantic City, the data gets skewed,” West Hollywood Mayor John Duran said. “They are all examples of cities that are really built on nightlife and tourism and so we do have a high number [of establishments that sell alcohol], but it’s not like we have liquor stores on every corner.”

In West Hollywood alone, the study found 47.3 on-premise outlets per 10,000 residents, based on 2007 data showing a population of 34,000. But city officials say this number does not take into account the thousands of people who come to West Hollywood on weekends or for special events.

“We swell from 100,000 in West Hollywood on any given weekend to 400,000 over Gay Pride or Halloween,” Duran said.

And with this escalated weekend population comes an increase in alcohol-related crimes such as DUIs, assaults and public intoxication—a side effect the city began proactively combating in 2003 when it created a Community Impact Team to patrol nightlife venues Wednesday through Saturday nights.

“The city is gracious enough to have funded a team that meets with management and is responsible for checking in nightly to all the big venues, checking to see if there is a certain act playing at the venue and have a great working relationship with all the security staff at all the businesses,” said Lt. Dave Smith of the , who oversees the team.

“We'll talk to them and say, 'Hey this is what’s going on. You may be not checking ID hard enough, you may have people loitering outside that seem to be intoxicated. Call us. That's our job,' ” Smith said. "People that are intoxicated and unable to care for their safety or the safety of others are probably the most common problem the division deals with."

For Duran, these problems do not outweigh the benefits of the nightlife scene.

“I think we recognize that for every 99 people that are going to have a good time in West Hollywood tonight, one person is not,” he said. “But that is not a pattern of behavior that so many people engage in that we have lawlessness.”

One reason Duran is willing to weather the negative aspects of a bustling nightlife is the $100 million he says the bars and clubs bring into the city.

“We were able to now build parking structures and park improvements,” Duran said of West Hollywood’s surplus. “We have not had to lay off one employee. We have not had to do any cutbacks. Los Angeles is suffering cutbacks, Beverly Hills is suffering cutbacks, and we are not.”

Although the noise and crowds might not be enjoyed by everyone, Duran believes they should not surprise anyone who moves to West Hollywood.

“West Hollywood is one of the more interesting parts of Los Angeles. I could live anywhere,” he said. “I could live in Toluca Lake. I could live in Van Nuys, but why would I?”

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