Crime rewards net few payoffs

Nicole Harvey died alone, in a gutter. The 21-year-old college student was shot, and her body, consumed by flames, was found in Playa del Rey in January.

The Los Angeles City Council and county Board of Supervisors moved quickly to offer a reward for information from the public that would break open the case and lead to a conviction. But as in scores of other reward cases, the $55,000 has gone unclaimed and the crime remains unsolved.

Offering rewards is older than Wild West “Wanted” posters. Despite the widespread publicity and heartfelt pleas from grieving relatives that such offerings typically garner, records show that a monetary reward has less than a 1 in 10 chance of being given out in Los Angeles and L.A. County.

Since 1985, the Board of Supervisors has advertised more than 275 rewards worth nearly $3 million combined. Tips from the public have helped lead to convictions in 27 cases, resulting in about $317,000 in payouts. The city’s reward offers have steadily grown to roughly 100 rewards a year at a maximum of $75,000 each; about three are collected annually, according to city officials.

Some other jurisdictions in Southern California are reluctant to use public funds for crime information, saying they can’t afford it. But authorities in Los Angeles and L.A. County believe the effort is worthwhile if it helps convict even a few criminals.

“We would never characterize it as a waste of time,” said Capt. Kyle Jackson, commanding officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division. In “a high-profile case, any shred of information . . . could be the tipping point.”

City and county lawmakers enjoy broad latitude when selecting which crime investigations merit cash incentives for tipsters.

“The larger the amount of money they put up, the more impressive it’s going to be to the public at large -- or put more simply, to the voters,” said Gilbert Geis, professor emeritus of criminology, law and society at UC Irvine.

The crimes chosen for rewards tend to be high-profile killings that involve very young or very old victims, often of gang violence; slayings of police officers or sheriff’s deputies; or hate crimes.

A reward “gives a higher visibility to the investigation,” said Steve Szalay, former executive director of the California State Sheriff’s Assn.

Law enforcement agencies often suggest difficult-to-crack cases to local officials, hoping a fat check from the city or county will prod potential informants to talk.

“Media attention means more eyes, more brains are paying attention to what’s going on out there,” Sheriff’s Lt. Gil Carrillo said. In his 36 years in law enforcement, Carrillo twice has seen a cash reward handed out for a crucial tip.

Carrillo helped oversee one of the largest, most famous payouts when 19 people helped sheriff’s deputies catch serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, in 1985. Each took home some of more than $80,000 in reward money offered by governments and others. Carrillo also recalled a corporation paying out at least $20,000 to help catch the killer of a man slain in a Duarte 7-Eleven in 1998.

Unlike Los Angeles city and county, most other Southern California governments are not in the habit of offering cash for crime tips.

Orange County supervisors are desperate to catch the arsonist who sparked the Santiago blaze; but before the board had a chance to approve a reward, the state, federal agencies and radio station KFI-AM (640) cobbled together $250,000 for a conviction.

Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell said the county would offer rewards only in the most egregious incidents, such as the recent fires.

“Fifty thousand dollars pays for the salary of a paramedic for at least half a year,” he said. “It is an allocation of resources every time you do that.”

Ventura County also doesn’t offer monetary rewards, and Riverside does so only in rare instances, such as in the search for the arsonist who caused the deaths of five firefighters last fall.

“The trend is to stay away from” rewards except in the most serious cases, said Tom McMains, assistant executive director of the California Peace Officers’ Assn. “It can be useful, but it’s not 100% effective.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, a former federal prosecutor, supports the city’s reward system.

“The witnesses are out there,” he said. “If this helps shake things up in even 10% of the cases, it’s not a bad thing.”

Los Angeles County supervisors often make reward decisions based on constituent concerns or at their own discretion.

Supervisor Don Knabe established a $25,000 reward to solve the fatal shooting of Sheriff’s Deputy Maria Rosa in Long Beach in March 2006; law enforcement associations put up an additional $150,000. With tips from the public plus DNA evidence, detectives arrested two suspects. No one has received the award because the case is pending.

Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who represents South Los Angeles, often selects cases for rewards in response to victims’ families seeking justice. Supervisor Gloria Molina largely sticks to law enforcement recommendations.

Currently, the county’s largest purse of $50,000 is reserved for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Emigdio Preciado, who police believe has fled to Mexico after allegedly shooting Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Schaap in the head during a 2000 traffic stop, seriously injuring him.

Offering cash rewards places monetary value on human life, and justice for some victims ends up being worth more than others. The LAPD’s Jackson says law enforcement tries to be consistent with the size of cash incentives, but disparities are inevitable.

“A young person is important and an older person is important,” Jackson said. “We just have to look at it.”

Rewards can grow if an incident is particularly senseless, with multiple victims or in a case that endangers the whole community, Jackson said.

The county’s cash rewards generally have ranged from $5,000 to $25,000, and payouts are funded evenly among the discretionary budgets of the board’s five offices. But the board can increase rewards “in particularly heinous crimes,” according to county code.

Last summer the county board increased basic rewards to $10,000. The city boosted payouts from $50,000 to $75,000 in 2004, with money from a special trust fund.

Actually receiving a reward check can be tough -- and bureaucratic.

Informants must contact the county within 180 days of the reward offer; the city must be contacted between three and six months, depending on the case.

They’re eligible to collect only if the information leads to a conviction.

For county rewards, a committee with representatives from the Sheriff’s Department, county executive office and county counsel determines who should receive the money and how to divvy it up among multiple informers. Supervisors and City Council members give final approval in a process that can take years.

--

susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com