[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] - West Hollywood City councilmember Sepi Shyne led a 3-2 vote on Monday night to cut funding from the local sheriffs' department
- They will reduce the current size of the sheriffs department from approximately 60 deputies to 56, and the funds saved will be redistributed
- With the money from reducing the headcount by four, the council plans to pay for 30 unarmed 'security ambassadors' to patrol the area
- Shyne said it's city's best 'bang for the buck,' yet she also voted for the city to spend $85,000 updating it iconic LGBTQ crosswalk to be more inclusive
- The city will also spend $50,000 on its troubled Russian Culture festival, which will forgo celebrating the country after its brutal invasion of Ukraine
- Mayor Lauren Meister and a councilman who voted against the measure said that residents and business owners were worried about soaring crime rates in the city
- Crime in West Hollywood has this risen by 137 percent from last year
| Related: The New York Post points out that West Hollywood City hosts the famous Sunset Strip, which has recently become a destination for pickpockets — whatever that means — and in the same vote approved keeping bars open until 4 a.m. |
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