YoVenice has spoken with the LAPD and they are “well aware” of the recent burglaries that have occurred in Venice. In the three weeks leading up to April’s burglaries, there were no home burglaries here in Venice of note. In the month of April there were close to 24. (24 in the whole area, 3 or so a week in Venice) Extra units have been deployed as of three weeks ago and they have strong suspect descriptions from victims that they (including two Senior Lead Officers) are following up on.
While the LAPD pursues their leads there are many things that we can do as residents to help ourselves. According to Pacific Area Property Crimes Coordinator Detective Nina Serna, approximately 80% of all burglaries happen when homes are not secured, meaning open or unlocked windows, garages, backdoors etc. We need to lock our homes right now since we have a group of burglars targeting our neighborhood. Motion sensitive lights are good. Indoor light timers set to turn lights on and off and random times are good too. Setting your sprinkler timers so that they go on during the day helps make crooks think you may be home when they see wet grass. Leave a TV or stereo on when you are not home. Lock your gates. Thieves will move on if they think that you may be home. Another good rule of thumb is to not tell people what you have in your home, and make sure that your children do not brag to friends that mom or dad may have a lump of cash or other valuables sitting around the house.
As far as the online crime stats that we have seen and posted, Detective Serna said that there was a glitch that took that system down for two weeks, but it is not the internal system that the LAPD uses to track crime stats.
It does not appear that the recent wave of burglaries have included assaults on citizens, they have been more of snatch and grab type thefts where laptops, cameras, play stations and other items easily snatched were taken.
We will be meeting with the LAPD and hopefully will be able to establish a relationship where they can get community news out in real time to all of Venice through YoVenice and our forums.
Here is a copy of the April 11th LAPD community alert notice that was handed out in Venice by Police Department Explorers:
Your neighborhood has seen a recent increase in Burglaries. This community alert is to provide you with information on how to protect your home and vehicle from crime. In the majority of the burglaries the suspect has entered the residence through an unlocked door or open window. Most of our vehicle break-ins occur when citizens leave items visible in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
YOUR HOME
• LOCK YOUR WINDOWS AND DOOR WHEN YOU ARE NOT HOME.
• SECURE THE GATES AND FENCES AROUND YOUR HOME.
• KEEP YOUR GARAGE CLOSED.
• KEEP LIGHTS ON WHEN YOU ARE NOT HOME.
• DO NOT LEAVE ITEMS OF VALUE VISABLE
• LOCK YOUR BICYCLES
• GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
• SECURE YOU VALUABLES SUCH AS LAPTOP COMPUTERS, JEWLERY, AND ELECTRONICS AT HOME.
• LEAVE A TELEVISION OR RADIO ON WHEN YOU ARE NOT HOME.
• POST SECURITY SIGNS
• INSTAL MOTION LIGHTS AND SECURITY CAMERAS
YOUR VEHICLE
• LOCK THE CAR DOORS
• CLOSE ALL THE WINDOWS
• DO NOT LEAVE ITEMS OF VALUE VISABLE IN YOUR VEHICLE.
Call the police if you see a suspicious person on either yours or your neighbor’s property. Document license plates of suspicious persons in your neighborhood.
If you have additional questions please contact Detective Serna, Property Crimes Coordinator or your Senior Lead Officer at Pacific Division 310-482-6439. Detective Serna will get your message and will respond.
