STUDIO CITY : Violent Crime Surge to Be Topic of Talk

A recent surge of violent crimes in the community will be the subject of a report presented at the monthly meeting of the Studio City Residents Assn. tonight.

Senior lead officers Nancy Reeves and Jim O’Riley of the Los Angeles Police Department will present an update at the meeting, which will be held at 8 p.m. in the Carpenter Avenue Elementary School auditorium, 3909 Carpenter Ave., Studio City.

O’Riley said that in the past two weeks, thugs have committed crimes that are unusual in this upscale suburb because of their violence or boldness.

During that time, police reported that a man broke into the home of a 75-year-old woman near the intersection of Tujunga Avenue and Riverside Drive and raped her. Robbers stole about $86,000 in cash and jewelry from sightseers on Mulholland Drive. And a teen-ager wrested a bicycle away from a younger boy--after threatening to beat him up--at 2:30 in the afternoon on Ventura Boulevard.

“(The crimes) appear to be more violent and more frequent,” said O’Riley, who said it was too soon to tell whether these crimes are part of an overall trend. In fact, the police officer said, crimes that are considered “repressible”--such as burglary, theft and robbery--are down 8% in Studio City.

The officers and Patty Kirby, chairwoman of Partners Against Crime, a citizens group that works with the Police Department in organizing Neighborhood Watch groups, will discuss crime-fighting tips with residents.