Los Santos Insider | Daily Danger: Public Works Staff Brave Violence on the Job!

Jolagh · March 22

Daily Danger: Public Works Staff Brave Violence on the Job!

Written by Hank Miller, March 2024

Graffiti needs cleaning from your home or business? Or is there a nuisance car which is parked illegally. A small, often overlooked group of people head out onto the streets and highways of Los Santos to deal with these everyday problems. Whether it be technicians or parking attendants, the tight knit staff at the Public Works are out and about day and night to fix these issues and keep the city running smoothly. I had the pleasure of spending an evening with them recently and it was certainly an eye opening experience.

What struck me about the Public Works as an organisation is how small their team is, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in efficiency and personality. The people that work there are actually amazing, full of personality and a togetherness which tends to be lost in bigger organisations. This was summed up nicely by a sheriff during a towing job ‘Cleaning graffiti in a timely manner, helping us do a public service. We cooperate with Public Works often, really good guys.’

It isn’t a surprise though, when you scratch under the surface of the tow trucks, the parking fines and the roadwork, being a technician at the Public Works is a tough job by anyone’s standards. No matter the weather, the time of year or the time of day the distinctive white vehicles white vehicles of the Public Works can be seen out and about attending to the citizens of Los Santos and wider San Andreas.

Pictured - Public Works Vehicles

That being said, there are many challenges for the team with the most prominent being the danger of being assaulted, robbed or even shot whilst carrying out jobs. When speaking to one of the technicians he highlighted the issue ‘Our safety is starting to be an everyday issue. A lot of the graffiti we clean is generally in gang territory or contested neighborhoods. Each tag means something, in some way, shape or form. It is a form of communication, and unfortunately we do have to clean them off of public buildings and structures. So, of course people take offense to us doing our jobs, and that has lead to numerous employees being assaulted.’

I discussed this with the Director of Public Works, Miss Sophie Kaczynsk, at length. Whilst it is clear that she has the safety of her team at the heart of the decisions she makes, equally the challenge that the department faces is particularly troubling and somewhat out of their control. ‘Violence seems to be one of the bigger occupational hazards we are facing at the minute and it only seems to be getting worse’.

Miss Kaczynsk recalled three incidents in recent memory where staff members have been either robbed, assaulted, incapacitated or the worst incident when a staff member lost their life, serving the city. ‘There was an incident where an employee was handling a task over at Legion Square. He was assaulted, being knocked unconscious and robbed. We had a parking inspector assaulted by being sprayed with some type of incapacitant spray and a technician who stopped to get some breakfast at a local store, then when he got out of his van he was held at gunpoint and robbed, whilst in uniform and outside his marked up government vehicle.’

‘One of our employees was murdered whilst trying to stop somebody putting graffiti on the rear of our building. They didn't survive. Luckily, the LSPD was able to capture and arrest the perpetrator’.

Shocking does not do these situations justice and according to the Director these situations are getting increasingly common and increasingly resources are being stretched. But what of the impact of these issues? Not only does it impact the staff but also impacts the service that the Public Works are providing as staff safety becomes even more of a focus. When asked, Miss Kaczynsk stated that some areas of the city are restricted zones, in which staff will not go into without a police presence. ‘I have already had to put a blanket ban on my team entering the South Central area unless it's been requested by law enforcement and they remain on scene. There are also some areas around Vespucci that are semi-restricted due to being gang areas. I have to protect my team first.’

Pictured: A Public Works Technician during a towing job.

So not only are these criminal acts impacting the staff in the department, but it is creating an unequal service proposition across the city due to the risk. However, there is cross functional support with other departments in the city. Miss Kaczynsk described an operation with the gang division of the Police department in South Central. ‘A police officer in the gang division with LSPD contacted me to arrange a joint operation. We met up at Mission Row station before heading out in a convoy to the Carson Avenue area. Officers were walking the street, locating any graffiti, then my team went there with officers to clean it off. It was a successful evening and we made an impact.

Whilst cross functional working can only be applauded, it is somewhat shocking that to clean graffiti the guys and girls at the Public Works require an armed escort, however this only underlines the gravity of the situation. To conclude, Public Works are an amazing group of people. Open, honest and hard working are the words I would use to describe them. They are also under-appreciated and often forgotten. Next time you see a staff member out and about on patrol, show your appreciation, because without them, this city and wider state would fall apart from disrepair.