For more than twenty-five years, residents of La Mirada have known one constant in the City’s Public Safety Division: Mary Cipres.
Whether organizing Neighborhood Watch meetings, speaking to students about making positive choices, coordinating emergency preparedness training, or helping residents navigate public safety concerns, Mary’s career has been built around a simple but powerful belief: strong communities are created when neighbors look out for one another.
Mary joined the City of La Mirada in 1998 as a Safety Education Officer and eventually rose to the position of Public Safety Supervisor. Over the course of her career, she became one of the most recognizable and respected faces in the community.
Her responsibilities have been extensive. She has coordinated crime prevention programs, disaster preparedness efforts, anti-drug and anti-gang initiatives, Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch, CERT training, Volunteer on Patrol programs, National Night Out, Red Ribbon Week activities, safety education presentations, and countless community events.
Yet those who know Mary best often describe her work differently. They talk about the student she encouraged to make better choices. The neighborhood she helped organize after a series of crimes. The volunteer she inspired to become more involved. The family she reassured during a difficult time.
Throughout her career, Mary’s focus has been prevention rather than reaction. While law enforcement officers respond after incidents occur, much of her work has centered on helping residents avoid becoming victims in the first place through education, awareness, preparedness, and community engagement.
Her commitment has earned numerous honors, including the 2023 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award from VFW Post 9148, the 2020 Woman of Achievement Award from State Senator Bob Archuleta, and several community service recognitions from local schools and organizations.
Beyond City Hall, Mary has devoted countless hours to volunteer service. She has served as an advisor to La Mirada High School’s Rotary Interact Club, held leadership roles with local PTSA organizations, served on the board of the La Mirada Ebell Club, and contributed to regional community advisory organizations.
A graduate of California State University Long Beach with a degree in Political Science, Mary is also a wife, mother of three, grandmother of two, volunteer, pickleball player, boogie board enthusiast, and proud community advocate.
As she prepares for retirement, Mary leaves behind more than programs and policies. She leaves behind stronger neighborhoods, informed residents, safer communities, and generations of young people whose lives were influenced by her example.
For a quarter century, Mary Cipres has helped make La Mirada not only a safer city, but a stronger one. And that may be the greatest legacy of all.
