WESTSIDE COVER STORY : On the Defensive : Rising Fear of Crime Fuels a Boom in Security Items--Even in Places That Are Essentially Safe

Judging by the security measures its residents take, the Westside might seem one of the most dangerous places in Los Angeles, if not the entire state.

There’s the kudzu-like proliferation of signs warning of armed response from home security services, plus the fleets of silently cruising private patrol cars, the homes rigged with motion detectors and security lights, and the omnipresent oinking of auto alarms.

That’s not to mention the proliferation of portable security devices: restraining clubs locked across steering wheels, canisters of pepper spray, palm-sized stun guns and hand-activated personal alarms.

Given this, an out-of-towner might assume that crime runs rampant in such usually quiet neighborhoods as Malibu, Brentwood and the Hollywood Hills.

In reality, of course, what most of the Westside’s more affluent residents are doing is what they do best--placing themselves at the leading edge of a nationwide trend. In this case, it’s the boom in spending on auto, home and personal security.

Last year, Americans spent more than $400 million on safety equipment and services, double the amount of 15 years ago, according to American Demographics magazine. As the fear of violent and once-unheard-of crimes such as carjackings and follow-home robberies permeate the consciousness of suburban America, a world of items such as blindness-inducing flashlights, life-sized, latex “Safe-T-Men” (for people who live or drive alone) and keychain-attached batons are becoming increasingly popular.

On the Westside, the call to arms has been particularly strong. Jon Cobb, vice president at Westec, perhaps the most recognizable of the home security agencies that patrol the area, said sales of the service are up 20% to 25% this year for homes in and around West Los Angeles.

Similarly, at Security 20/20 in Beverly Hills, consultant Mike Peterson said sales of pepper spray have been “very favorable” since the company began selling the item in May after its legalization by the state. “We’re getting people from all over West Los Angeles,” he said.

Underlying the surge in security purchases are anxious suburbanites concerned about crime in their neighborhoods. In a Time magazine/CNN poll taken last year, in fact, 30% of those surveyed nationwide said they believed that crime is just as prevalent in the suburbs as it is in urban areas.

Paty Lancaster, whose Mar Vista house was burglarized in March, says that in talking to neighbors after the break-in, she was surprised to learn how many people in the area had also experienced crime.

“Until people talk to each other, you don’t hear about it, but it turns out it’s been happening a lot,” said Lancaster, who helped form a Neighborhood Watch group on her block. “We’re just more aware of it now.”

Brentwood resident Richard Kjeldsen, who has lived in the area for more than two decades, says he does not personally feel at greater risk. But concern about crime, he adds, has nevertheless increased dramatically among neighbors. “A lot of my friends are frantic,” he said.

The reality of crime, though, is not so clear-cut. Though pockets of Venice and Hollywood do suffer from high crime, the areas of the Westside where the most is spent on security are usually the safest. And although violent crime has risen in suburban areas, according to FBI statistics, murder rates in 1992 were still 81% lower in the suburbs than in large central cities, rates of robbery were 88% lower and rates of rape were 56% lower.

Even in Los Angeles, which has the second-highest rate of suburban crime among major American cities (behind only Miami), suburban crime still lags far behind that of the central city area.

Security experts attribute the public’s rising concern as much to media reports as to crime rates. On a daily basis, people are exposed to more accounts of crime than ever before, a phenomenon noted recently by the Tyndall Report, a magazine that monitors television news. A February article in the magazine stated that “violent crime has become more newsworthy because . . . the news media have chosen to make it so.”

“If you look at the crime statistics, crime is not necessarily up . . . (but) it’s a lot more visible in the media,” concurred Jon Cobb. “People are more aware of what’s going on in and around their communities.” Agreed Hemsworth: “A lot of it is perception. Crime is up in certain areas and it’s down in certain areas.”

Indeed, for West Los Angeles, where the local boom in security is perhaps most evident, the crime picture is a mixed one.

The number of robberies increased 110, about 8%, from 1992 to 1993, but the number of homicides and rapes declined during that period. Overall, crime is down in the area, said Capt. Constance Dial, patrol commanding officer of the West Los Angeles Division.

In sheer numbers, the biggest crime in West Los Angeles remains that of auto-related theft. According to police statistics, last year there were 4,083 thefts from and burglaries of autos in West Los Angeles and 3,403 stolen vehicles, in both cases a slight decline from 1992 figures. Many stolen cars are subsequently dispatched to so-called chop shops, officials say, where a $20,000 auto can be quickly broken down into $40,000 worth of illegally sold parts.

“It’s a very, very desirable area for auto thieves to steal cars from,” said John Raber of LoJack, which markets a device that allows police to track vehicles after they are taken. In the Los Angeles area, Raber says, the highest percentage of stolen cars equipped with LoJack are from the Westside. “There’s a real good selection of cars to choose from,” he said.

The fact that the Westside’s biggest threat is auto theft and break-ins does little to assuage residents who consider personal crime their No. 1 worry. Regardless of whether their fears are well-founded, residents say they feel that such crimes as violent attacks and home break-ins are rising sharply, and that they are more random than ever.

“Crime used to be in the ‘bad’ parts of town,” said Ken Hudson, president of Front Line, a Torrance-based business that offers courses in personal security and disaster preparedness. “Now people see it happening everywhere and they feel more vulnerable.” Brian Hemsworth, managing editor of Safe and Secure Living magazine, agreed: “Most people we talk to, they’re scared.”

All of which has resulted in a surge in sales of security goods and services.

At the Counter Spy Shop in Beverly Hills, which sells an array of corporate and personal security equipment, manager Judy Fish says that all types of customers now walk through the door, from those who want to spend a few thousand dollars for covert video cameras planted in toy animals to those who want a standard stun gun. “We are selling pepper spray to 75-year-old women,” Fish said. “There are people who would absolutely not leave their house without it.”

Consider Maria Bugarin. Last week, Bugarin, who works in Brentwood at a property management firm, bought her first canister of pepper spray. It now hangs from her key chain.

“The (automated teller machine) robberies influenced my decision, and hearing about carjacking and all the assaults at night,” said Bugarin, who is single and in her 30s. “That got the best of me.”

Though she has never been the victim of crime, the administrative assistant says the burgeoning homeless population and the city’s 1992 riots have made her feel more vulnerable, even in an area such as Brentwood. “Crime can take place anywhere,” she said.

Experts in security say that initial small purchases such as Bugarin’s often lead to the acquisition of more sophisticated security equipment, a key factor fueling the growth in the field. “Once a person becomes interested in security in one part of their life, they become interested in security in all parts of their lives,” said Hemsworth, whose Canoga Park-based publication began two years ago in response to the security boom. “The same person who is out there buying a firearm is also very interested in locking devices, auto security and home protection.”

Some of that interest, to be sure, arises from the suggestions of security experts. For those who feel they need personal protection, for instance, experts recommend a “layer of defenses”--perhaps a personal alarm used in conjunction with pepper spray--not a single device or weapon. For example, a stun gun only works if it can be put in contact with an assailant’s skin. Thus, to stop someone who is farther than arm’s length away, pepper spray might be more effective.

“Go out and buy a .357-magnum and stick it in your back pocket if that’s what you need to do to protect yourself, but don’t think that’s going to solve all your problems,” said Mike Peterson of Security 20/20. “No one should believe any one thing is a magic cure-all.”

Many Westside residents are also taking extra precautions at home.

John Mack, vice president of Protection One, a home security business based in Culver City, said that although his company’s alarm systems are in homes throughout Southern California, the bulk of the patrol services are for residents on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley, where an ever-increasing number of homeowners and Neighborhood Watch groups are requesting his company’s services (all told, he said, there are more than 23,000 homeowners groups in California, far outdistancing the number in other states). “These people want to build their own communities, wall themselves off and get their own security,” Mack said.

At Front Line, the Torrance company that offers personal security training, Hudson estimates that 70% of his students are either single professional women or suburban mothers ages 25 to 40. Though few trainees say they have been personally victimized by crime, most know of a crime that occurred nearby and feel that police are simply too undermanned and underpowered to combat crime effectively.

Many residents say that taking charge of their own security not only makes them feel less vulnerable but also gives them peace of mind.

Said Bugarin: “I feel a little more self-confident. It makes you aware of what you can do to someone else. You’re no longer defenseless.”