Skid row effort hits a wall

The arrest was immediately felt on the street, "because people couldn't find their drugs," said LAPD Capt. Jodi Wakefield.

The arrest underscores skid row's reputation as L.A.'s bazaar for street drugs. But despite the find, the police department's 18-month effort to clean up the streets of downtown has reached a crossroads.

After more than a year of rising arrests and declining crime, skid row and surrounding areas have seen both level off since the beginning of 2008. Although violent crime has remained flat, property crime is up nearly 60% over last year.

Downtown officials and residents are quick to note that the uptick needs to be taken in context. The streets of skid row are still far safer now than they were two years ago.

But there is some concern about the much-publicized cleanup campaign slowing down -- and what comes next.

"We see it with our own eyes," Estela Lopez, head of the Central City East Assn., said of the new numbers. "This is a good time to sit down and say, 'Where are we going from here?' "

The police crackdown had coincided with increased gentrification on the edges of skid row, with residents moving into upscale lofts, and a variety of trendy bars, eateries and galleries opening up.

LAPD officials see a connection, saying the jump in property crimes is a result mostly of new shoppers, club-goers and others coming into the area.

LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said many of the thefts from cars were a result of people leaving expensive electronics in plain sight in their vehicles.

"They are an attractive nuisance in an area where people are desperate for narcotics and will steal anything they can sell for a few bucks," Vernon said.

Often those whose cars are broken into have chosen to park on the street outside parking lots at night, he said.

Eighteen months ago, the city of Los Angeles brought a long-promised strike force to skid row, with the pledge of creating a safer city in the process. Fifty additional police officers, on bike and foot, fanned out across the area, where drug dealers, prostitutes and thieves often operated openly on the streets.

Prosecutors, parole officers and trash crews were also part of the effort, known as the Safer City Initiative.