Safe Spot Business Program

 The Safe Spot Program is designed to offer assistance to all community members who feel they are currently in danger or are a victim of a potential hate crime. It is a partnership between local retailers and Public Safety agencies to provide shelter, support, and timely reporting of incidents. Ultimately creating a safer neighborhood for all 

A hate incident refers to something that may not be a crime, whereas, a hate crime includes criminal acts that are committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of a victim:

• Race or ethnicity
• Religion or faith
• National origin
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Disability
• Age

There is no cost associated with becoming a Safe Spot sponsored location. Upon completion of a Safe Spot training session, instructed by Shmira Public Safety, sponsored locations will be provided with a Safe Spot decal sticker for their location. To become a new Safe Place-sponsored location, a location will need to train its employees to do two things if a victim of a crime comes in:

1) Staff shall let the victim stay in the business’s safe (public) area.

2) Staff shall call 911 immediately, and to report the incident and request a police response. Then call Shmira’s community hotline to alert them as well.

 Your business plays a key role for our community to become a safe place for all. Your participation in this program will let your customers know that Hate crimes are not tolerated by you, and that you and your staff have made the commitment of training, preparing, and offering assistance to anyone in need. In addition to the necessary immediate shelter, the program strives to aid law enforcement in documenting, investigating, and enforcing various hate crime laws.  

The names of Safe Spot Locations will be promoted to the community. This provides additional information to your potential customers about your commitment to their safety and to the entire community. 

 Your business plays a key role for our community to become a safe place for all. Your participation in this program will let your customers know that Hate crimes are not tolerated by you, and that you and your staff have made the commitment of training, preparing, and offering assistance to anyone in need. In addition to the necessary immediate shelter, the program strives to aid law enforcement in documenting, investigating, and enforcing various hate crime laws.  

The names of Safe Spot Locations will be promoted to the community. This provides additional information to your potential customers about your commitment to their safety and to the entire community. 

You can do many things to ensure the safety and security of someone who was a victim of a hate crime or feels they are in danger.

• The first thing you should ask is if the suspect is close by. If so, you may need to close and lock your business and call 911 and Shmira Public Safety. 
• Then, ask the victim if he/she/they are injured. If the victim is injured and requires medical attention, please call 911 and/or Hatzolah. 
• If the suspect is not nearby, or the crime is not in progress, and EMS is not needed, try to keep the victim calm and encourage them to report the incident. A link to the LAPD online Hate Incident reporting is at www.lashmira.org/report. Refer the victim to the site or QR code (on materials) and call the non-emergency dispatch phone line at 800-ASK-LAPD and Shmira Hotline at 424-888-4646. 
• Be ready to answer a series of questions for the dispatcher. Please ask the victim these questions or encourage the victim to speak to the dispatcher themselves. The information collected is vital to response and follow up. If you can, gather a preferred name and phone number for the victim. If the victim leaves prior to police arrival, please call back, giving the dispatcher the victim's preferred name and contact information so LAPD can follow up. 

More details and materials will be provided during the training program.

This program is being rolled out to locations in the greater Pico-Robertson area, first. We hope that it will continue to grow to other areas of the community in the future. Over 300 other cities and departments have enacted similar programs across the country 

 Any business, retail location, school, or faith-based location, may sign up for the Safe Spot Program as long as they meet the criteria and offer equal resources to all members of the community.