Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) suffered a scare last week. One of their female students was walking on her way to school and was allegedly abducted. IUSD has come under fire in the previous weeks in regards to the safety of the City, as a whole, and the need to reinstate a full campus security and crossing guard staff. IUSD has rehired a few classified personnel but is it enough?
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The continued synergy between IUSD and the City of Inglewood is apparent with Mayor James Butts being briefed immediately, upon IUSD discovering the incident. IUSD school police also met with the Mayor and city council members, the following day, after the news became public, presumably to discuss more visibility in the hours preceding/after school starting.
The school where the student attends held an assembly, by grade, to discuss the incident along with safety precautions. The school also sent out a letter to the parents as well.
Although this incident occurred well before school started, it stresses the need for parents to be more vigilant about talking to our children about talking/speaking to strangers and to be more aware of their surroundings.
IUSD state administrator Dr. Don Brann and Joe Dominguez will hopefully figure out a way to bring staffing back to normal levels and also increase the size of the school police department. Campus security only have jurisdiction over the campus they are assigned to and crossing guards aren’t at their post until 7:30a.m.; depending on the school sites budget.
Related article: Dr. Brann responds to Inglewood community
The Inglewood Education Foundation has held numerous fundraisers and received donations; can they be used towards the hiring of more classified personnel?
Ultimately, patrolling the streets surrounding IUSD campuses would fall under IUSD school police and Inglewood Police Department. With a strong desire of Mayor Butts to ensure the safety of Inglewood residents, we look forward to increased police presence, particularly around our schools, to ensure the safety of the children.
**updated 12/18/2014**
Follow up with Inglewood Police Department found that NO crime was committed, in the City of Inglewood, as it relates to this case. Translation? The child was NOT snatched off the street by a stranger.