Staff Reports
A new investigation found Venice neighbors are now paying a private firm — Ghost Town Consultants — made up of former gang members and people in recovery to patrol streets, clear encampments, and push people living outdoors off specific blocks. That move is not a quirky neighborhood trend. It’s a red flag that the system meant to keep sidewalks safe has broken down.
Ghost Town Consultants: Locals Who Do the Work City Hall Won’t
The reporting shows Ghost Town grew out of Venice in 2023 and now runs roughly a ten‑person crew. The company says it serves a couple hundred properties and charges clients for patrols, property checks, and helping clear encampments. Its founders say workers are unarmed, use cash incentives at times, and rely on local ties to persuade people to move rather than force.
Why Residents Turned to Private Patrols
People who live and work in Venice describe fear, needles near playgrounds, and tent cities reappearing after public cleanups. With the Los Angeles Police Department stretched thin — Chief Jim McDonnell has cited staffing shortfalls well below what the city needs — residents tired of waiting. So they cut a deal: pay roughly $300 a month and get someone who knows the neighborhood to push a problem off your block. Call it private security by necessity, not choice.
Legal Questions and the Unpleasant Truth About Policy
Ghost Town’s rise also raises real legal and moral questions. California requires private patrol operators and security guards to have state licenses and registrations through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Reporting notes Ghost Town is not a standard certified security firm, which opens liability and regulatory issues for the firm and the homeowners who hire them. Advocates warn the tactic can simply shuffle people around instead of solving homelessness. The founders counter they connect people with services. Either way, decades of spending and new programs under Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass have not stopped encampments from returning.
Bottom line
When homeowners write checks to former gang members because City Hall won’t keep sidewalks clear, that is a policy failure dressed up as a neighborhood solution. The sensible first steps are straightforward: Los Angeles officials should explain staffing and enforcement choices, the state must clarify whether private patrols meet licensing rules, and local leaders need to show real results — not just more committees and budgets. Venice residents got tired of waiting. It’s time elected officials stop expecting residents to buy their own security lesson by lesson.
