Area Residents Breathe a Sigh of Relief as Storm Fizzles : Law enforcement: Authorities say crime dropped noticeably during the past week’s deluge.

Like most Southern Californians, criminals here are wimps when it comes to rain.

Crime in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys dropped noticeably during last week’s deluge. But then again, it almost always drops when it rains, authorities say.

“Criminals are just like everybody else around here--they don’t want to get wet,” said Deputy Gil Arce of the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station. “Weather drives them inside. . . . Crime still happens; rain just slows it down.”

It’s a far cry from cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Washington, where criminals seem to have heartier constitutions.

“I’ve been an officer here for 22 years and I can tell you they’re out here in the rain, the sleet, the snow--whatever,” Chicago Police Officer Patrick Camden said.

“I guess people in L.A. don’t know how to deal with bad weather because they don’t get enough of it,” Camden said. “In Chicago, it’s not like that.”

In Los Angeles, neither the Police Department nor the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department could provide crime statistics on the past week, but many officers and deputies agree that criminals and rainwater don’t mix.

“I haven’t seen any statistics to prove it, but it just seems a lot quieter this week,” Lt. Pat Conmay of the North Hollywood Division said. “Of course, it’s always quieter when it rains. Nobody wants to be out in it.”

The nasty weather, of course, kept some police officers--traffic officers--busy.

“We don’t like the rain,” Officer Bill Mulvihill of the Valley Traffic Division said. “It seems like as soon as it starts raining, the speed limit goes up. People here just don’t know how to drive in the rain.”

Although the San Fernando Valley bore much of the brunt of last week’s storms, police in other parts of Los Angeles see the same trend.

“All of the potential victims are inside,” said Officer Del Rosario, a 26-year veteran of the department who works in the Hollenbeck Division. “If you’ve got no victims, then you’ve got no crime. Criminals don’t like getting wet.”

Don’t tell that to Washington Police Officer Haydee Mazariegos.

“I wish the bad guys would stay inside here when it rains or snows,” Mazariegos said. “It’s really like any other day. I mean if it rains hard, you’ll probably still see at least one shooting that day.

“Even in the heavy rains, you still see those guys out selling crack with raincoats on,” Mazariegos added. That’s not to say criminals are immune to all outside influences. “Crime does go down during the Redskins games but perks right up again afterward.”

But even members of the underworld have their limits.

Last week, Detroit experienced what one veteran officer there called the biggest snowstorm in about 10 years. “I’ve never seen it this slow around here,” said Lt. Patrick Jordan of the Detroit police. “Not even the crooks are going out.”

“If you have a big snowstorm, it drives crooks inside,” New York Police Sgt. Tim Price said. “But after a day or so, they’re back on their street and twice as crazy.”

In Seattle, which is famous for its rainfall, police have a different theory about crooks transplanted from Los Angeles.

“They adapt,” said Officer Dave DeBusk of the Seattle Police Department.

“We thought that when L.A. gangs first came up here the rain would slow them down. But they adapted,” DeBusk said. “Now we see them, selling their dope on the corner, come rain or shine.”