Valley’s 8.5% Drop in Major Crimes Tops Citywide Decrease

Major crimes reported in the San Fernando Valley dropped 8.5% last year, surpassing a citywide decline of 7.2%, but auto thefts in the Valley were well above the overall city average, Los Angeles police said Friday.

The number of crimes attempted or committed in the Valley declined from 80,540 in 1986 to 73,680 in 1987, police reported.

Deputy Chief Ronald A. Frankle, who oversees the Police Department’s five Valley divisions, attributed the drop in major crimes to improved home-security systems and a growing public awareness of crime and how to fight it.

“Neighborhood Watch is working,” Frankle said. He said citizens are becoming more willing to be “the eyes and ears of police” and report crimes in progress.

Members of Neighborhood Watch groups learn to recognize their neighbors’ habits and can spot suspicious characters or behavior, he said.

This aggressive anti-crime attitude is “really taking hold in the residential and business communities,” he said, citing year-end figures for burglaries in the Valley--down 19.3%--and robberies--down 8.1%.

But, although Valley thefts from autos declined 13.5%, thefts of autos increased 13.2%. Auto theft increased only 1.7% citywide.

Frankle said car thieves prey upon large suburban parking lots in the Valley. A car can be entered in a large parking lot without arousing suspicion, Frankle said. “How do you know who belongs to which car?” he asked.

In response, Valley officers have staked out parking lots that have histories of auto theft, he said.

Rising prices of car and truck parts have made auto theft a lucrative business, Frankle said. On the whole, penalties imposed by the criminal justice system are not severe enough to discourage car thieves, he said.

Except for aggravated assault, which rose 2.6%, and auto thefts, major crime was down in the Valley.

Homicides dropped 8.1%, from 98 to 90. Only the Foothill Division, which covers the northeast Valley, had an increase, from 31 to 42. The Devonshire Division, in the northwest Valley, had five homicides, the fewest of any division.

Rapes in the Valley were down 4.3%, from 485 to 464. Thefts from people were down 21.5% and “other” thefts dropped 13.4%.

The Foothill Division had the smallest drop in crime, 4.3%, while the Van Nuys Division had the largest, 12%. Crime dropped 9.4% in the Devonshire Division, 8.7% in the North Hollywood Division and 7.2% in the West Valley Division.