NORTH HILLS : Parolees Offer Safety Tips to Neighbors

For the first time since he was released from prison for burglarizing homes, Ron Dene spent Wednesday breaking into a one-room apartment in North Hollywood, lifting the sliding glass door and slipping inside in broad daylight.

But this time it was different. The home was his own. And a few hours later, the ex-convict used the experience to educate a group of North Hills neighbors in how to avoid break-ins.

“Tomorrow, what I’ll be doing is to get a little latch with a lock on it for the door and attach one to the ceiling and one to the ground,” said Dene, who had locked himself out of his apartment at a halfway house for parolees. “It will make it harder to lift the door and open it.”

The crime-fighting tip was one of dozens offered by Dene and a handful of other parolees who addressed about 25 homeowners at the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Church in North Hills. Dene and his fellow parolees live at the Ryan Center in North Hollywood, where clients offer crime prevention demonstrations as part of their rehabilitation.

During the past four years, Dene has been in and out of prison for burglarizing homes and stealing cars to support his drug habit. The presentation offered the 27 year old a chance to redeem himself, if only for a few hours.

Drawing on his experience, he suggested the best defenses against home burglary are a large dog with access to both front and back yards, motion sensor lights and even a gun--if you know how to use it.

To prevent car theft, Dene suggested parking in a locked garage at night and using a movement blocking device that fits around the steering wheel, not the one that goes from the brake to the wheel. The best defense is the Lojack stolen car tracking device, which can help police find a vehicle within 20 minutes of it being reported stolen, he said.

“Most cars are stripped down within 24 hours of being stolen,” said Dene, who now works at a motion picture studio.

During a question-and-answer session on carjacking, Officer Les Lovatt from the Devonshire police station said it is not illegal to drive home and report a “fender-bender” if it occurs in a suspicious neighborhood or under suspicious circumstances.

And one parolee said the key to preventing crime is providing a nurturing home that does not allow children to become criminals in the first place.

Forced out of his Whittier home by his parents at age 13, Joe Adams said he turned to gangs to find a new family. He spent 11 years in the gangs because “they were there for me.”

“Not all gang members are bad people,” said the 23-year-old. “They are just looking for attention.”

Adams also vouched for the effectiveness of Neighborhood Watch efforts.

“That’s how I got in trouble,” said Adams, who served three years in prison for burglary. “A neighbor saw me taking a bike out of a garage and they called the police. The police identified me by my tattoos.”

The event also gave homeowners a chance to see ex-convicts in a different light.

“I have my guys sit in the audience before we start,” said Claudia Ryan, the center’s director. “It helps make them aware that the person sitting right next to you may be the person to look out for, but it also helps people realize that these are people who may have just made one mistake and are trying to give back to the community.”

That message was not lost on 75-year-old Betty Vasin.

“I would like to give a big hand to the courageous people who came to do this,” said Vasin, a semi-retired book dealer from Van Nuys.