WeHo’s Neighborhood Watch Captains Address Public Safety Commission

At Monday night’s public safety meeting, Item 8D was a presentation by the captain’s of the neighborhood watch association groups.    Previously each captain had been asked a series of questions to summarize their neighborhood watch group, as well as recap this years National Night Out.    

The item as presented by staff would establish guidelines for the neighborhood watch groups as well as their captains.   This agenda item follows an OpEd, published in WEHOonline on August 6th, https://wehoonline.com/oped-politics-behind-national-night/,  and gives some background . 

During last years election one neighborhood watch was accused of using the group for political purposes, and another used the neighborhood group mailing list for a political gathering.    The remnants of the 2024 election still playing out into the fall of 2025.   Recent agenda items tell the whole story including the re-writing of decorum rules this past May.   https://wehoonline.com/civility-public-meetings-addressed-amid-resident-concerns/ .    The repercussions playing out over a year in policy.  

The ‘reeling’ in and quantifying of the Neighborhood Watch Groups required each captain to answer a series of questions.   Most of the captains unaware of the impetus to the item.   Some neighborhood watch groups captains were concerned the city staff and city council were exercising too much control over the watch groups.    Some understood that the purpose of city staff intervention was the de-politicize the watch groups.    

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Mike Carter,  watch captain for the Ogden Owls Neighborhood Group, provided the most levity of the evening sharing the Owls mascots on the public comment podium .   Wendy Goldman watch captain for the Cynthia-Sunset Neighborhood Group was present to discuss the unique needs of her neighborhood group which spans from Doheny to Larrabee and Sunset to Cynthia.  Goldman and Elyse Eisenberg of the WeHo Heights Neighborhood  are the only female watch captains of the ten neighborhood groups.  

Questions included how often captains meet with residents, the type of outreach and communication to residents and each neighborhoods unique concerns.  Three of the watch captains were kind enough to send copies of their answers.  They include Edd Hollman of the Gelson Height’s Watch Group,  John Finestone, President of the WHWRA Residents Association, a legal 501c3 corporation, – and Michael Cautillo, co-captain of the Tri-West Residents Association.  

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“My name is Edd Holman and I am a 29 year resident of West Hollywood on Flores St., Between Santa Monica Blvd and Fountain Ave, an area we locally refer to as “Gelson Heights” due to our proximity to Gelson’s Super Market, and so we chose that as our groups name, Gelson Heights. 

As a neighborhood watch block captain, I am a volunteer safety liaison between the neighbors on my block, who I consider to be my family and the public safety department in the city of West Hollywood. I gather safety information from the city via city council meetings, public safety commission meeting, the city’s multitude of websites or flyers from city hall and share that info with my neighbors, my family. We as neighbors look for areas on our block that the city needs to be involved in to help make the street safer by reporting items of concern to the city by speaking with commissioners, city council or by using the city’s app, such as tree trimming around lights so that the sidewalk and street get lit up and not the tops of branches and leaves or having a look at dilapidated properties on the block that might invite unwanted criminal activity or safety hazards. I take this responsibility to heart as I have lived on this block for more than half of my life. 

Areas of concern in Gelson Heights are parking and the businesses and their employees that take up the parking, the cities vision for Fountain Ave and the effects of losing parking and the cities vision of the properties it owns along Santa Monica Blvd between Flores & Sweetzer. 

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Good evening chairman, commissioners, and city staff. Thank you for the excellent work you all do. I’m Jonathan Finestone, President of the West Hollywood West Residents Association. • We are not a Neighborhood Watch; we are a residents association representing approximately 1,000 homes and other types of residences, with around 2,200 residents.

Each year, we host National Night Out in our neighborhood — this year over 350 people attended. • It was a very successful event, highlighting crime prevention and fostering neighborhood goodwill.

We meet quarterly as a full association, and we also hold smaller meetings as needed, particularly around public safety concerns or neighborhood development issues. °

We recruit new members and actively encourage participation. We want residents to be engaged and informed about neighborhood issues. ° National Night Out is part of our recruitment, and very important community centerpiece to build awareness and inclusion.

West Hollywood West is unique because we are a low-density, primarily single-family home neighborhood — and criminals consider that the “crème de la crème” for burglaries and robberies. ° Single-family homes are easier to case and surveil, making it simpler for criminals to determine whether someone is home. We’ve seen them operate on foot, in vehicles, and even disguised as AT&T or Spectrum salespeople.

Additionally, we are the only neighborhood in West Hollywood bordered by two other cities — Los Angeles to the south and east, and Beverly Hills to the west — creating additional challenges. °

Our biggest concerns are burglaries, robberies, and home invasions. • Because these are single-family homes, criminals expect bigger hauls — jewelry, electronics, and other valuables — making our area a high-value target.

We communicate through email, our association website, and also distribute flyers for urgent or time-sensitive issues. °

Additionally, we participate in — but do not manage, host, or sponsor — three WhatsApp discussion groups: two focused on general neighborhood issues, and one focused specifically on immediate security and safety concerns.

The biggest concerns for our residents include:

· Suspicious people surveilling properties and planning crimes.

· Homeless individuals impacting neighborhood safety and tranquility.

· Property crimes, thefts from vehicles, home burglaries, robberies, and home invasions

We appreciate the efforts of the Sheriff’s Department, City staff, and the Ambassadors, but residents feel there are continuing unresolved issues. ° Suspicious folks, criminal activity, crime planning, and disturbances — even rummaging through trash or recycling that could be linked to identity theft — however, its burglaries, robberies, and assaults that are extremely concerning.

Our residents are clear and firm: they want zero nuisance and even less zero CRIME and criminals – they demand very visible and proactive security and policing. •

We would welcome:

· More regular direct communication and feedback on the status of issues we raise.

· Practical tools such as updated data dashboards – via an app, streamlined reporting systems, and even faster response times.

· MOST IMPORTANTLY, we want:

· A new approach to policing and security modeled after Beverly Hills, whose public policy and city council direction is significantly stronger than ours. • They have zero tolerance for homeless individuals, troublemakers, and especially criminals — and that’s what our residents are entitled to.

· A pilot program to install surveillance cameras and drones, with a 24/7 police-staffed monitoring center to watch surveillance and dispatch police and security as needed. ° This would be part of a zero-tolerance, firm-hand approach, augmented by AI to boost effectiveness. Beverly Hills has this system and it provides significant results in crime reduction and an overall sense of safety for residents.

· A pilot program to bring in armed tactical wearing security in highly visible, police-like SUVs, similar to Beverly Hills’ contractors: COVERED SIX security. ° This creates a very secure, proactive environment while providing police-like visbility at lower costs. ° In Beverly hills Criminals know the serious risk of being stopped, interviewed, or caught, and if we implement those strategies here, the payoff would be a dramatic increase to safety and security in our neighborhoods.

Thank you to the Public Safety Commission, City staff, and the Sheriffs for the work you do every day. • We look forward to continued collaboration to keep West Hollywood West a safe and vibrant neighborhood.

Good evening, Chair and Commissioners,

My name is Michael Cautillo, and I serve as Co-Captain of the Tri-West Residents Association Neighborhood Watch, alongside my colleague, Bob Steloff. I’ve had the privilege of living in Tri-West since 1992, which means I’ve been part of this neighborhood through decades of change — and I’ve seen firsthand how essential Neighborhood Watch Captains are in keeping our community safe and connected.

Tri-West is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in West Hollywood, with over 1,500 residential units and more than 3,000 residents. In such a concentrated area, problems don’t stay small — they ripple quickly. That’s why captains matter. We are the first point of trust. When neighbors see something, they don’t check an org chart — they call us. Because we’re not strangers, we’re not part of bureaucracy, we’re neighbors. That’s why residents listen, and that’s why they engage.

Our role, guided by the City’s Neighborhood Watch Handbook, is clear: captains act as the “eyes and ears” of law enforcement, we connect residents to resources, and we build the trust that makes city systems more effective. In Tri-West, that has meant organizing meetings, recruiting neighbors, distributing information through email, flyers, and social media, and working directly with the Sheriff’s Department Fire Department la, Security Ambassadors, Code Compliance, and City staff.

What do we see? Property crime, traffic and pedestrian safety issues, and the challenges of unhoused in our area. These are complex problems. But the solution always begins with connection: someone paying attention, someone answering the phone, someone willing to follow through. That’s what captains do.

We are volunteers. We cost the city nothing. Yet we deliver measurable value:

• We reduce response times by directing concerns to the right place.
• We prevent escalation by addressing issues early.
• We build credibility for the city because residents see that their concerns are taken seriously.

That credibility comes because captains are independent, trusted neighbors. Our effectiveness depends on that unique position: we’re rooted in the community, but we partner closely with the city.

What strengthens us, strengthens the city. What we need from the Commission is support: training, communication, and timely feedback when we raise issues. When residents know their concerns are acted upon, it strengthens both safety and trust in city government.

On behalf of myself, Bob Steloff, and the residents of Tri-West, thank you for your time and for your ongoing commitment to keeping West Hollywood safe. And I’ll leave you with this thought: the strength of Neighborhood Watch isn’t in its structure — it’s in its neighbors. That’s what makes this model work, and that’s why it endures.