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# Responsibility falls on the press, too
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/responsibility-falls-on-the-press-too-editor/
- Published: 2003-11-25T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:16:15.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pico, #archive-import

*By Maria Loya Pico Neighborhood Association*

In the article “Carter murder still unresolved (SMDP, Nov. 21, page 1) you report on the impact that the violence in the Pico neighborhood has had on two families and the fact that the Santa Monica Police Department has been unable to solve the crime. As board members of the Pico Neighborhood Association we are very concerned with the violence that has plagued our community for many years. We feel it is necessary to implement a new approach that will address the gun violence in our neighborhood with out creating a situation where families are put at risk.

We also strongly believe that the Santa Monica Daily Press must engage in responsible reporting. During the preliminary investigation, the Santa Monica Daily Press did not hesitate to print Arthur’s address and even go as far as to give directions on how to get to his house. Later, we find that Mr. Archuletta was released, yet the family still lives in fear and the crime remains unresolved. I hope that your staff will begin to act responsibility in their reporting and be more conscious when it comes to reporting violent crimes.

This year alone our community has had to live through at least seven shootings since June. One of those bullets took the life of 19-year-old Jalonie Carter and another bullet pierced the home where four children lived. It is apparent that the approach the city and the SMPD has used is not working. It is our belief that an essential component to address gun violence is improved collaboration between the SMPD and the Pico Neighborhood Association. We recognize that in order to have a true collaboration, trust, cooperation and respect is necessary on both sides. Only after the community and the city begin to work together can we incorporate a community informed approach with a focus on community engagement in developing an appropriate response that promotes prevention and does away with indiscriminate incarceration of low-income youth.

The newly elected PNA is committed to working with both the city of Santa Monica and the SMPDt to create a new paradigm of community centered policing. We look forward to meeting with SMPD Chief James T. Butts Jr. and City Manager Susan McCarthy to engage in this process. In a city with such abundant resources it is intolerable to allow this problem to persist in the only working-class neighborhood of Santa Monica.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 25, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)