Valley Areas ‘Hot Spots’ for Car Burglaries

Despite rising crime fears, only one serious offense actually went up in the San Fernando Valley during 1994. But it claimed more victims this year--nearly 18,000--than any other.

With crooks targeting specific Valley neighborhoods, police this year report an increase in the number of thefts from cars--whether parked on city streets, at shopping malls or in gated, underground garages.

In one Encino neighborhood, residents reported 238 car burglaries through November in a roughly 2.5-square-mile area bordered by Ventura Boulevard and the Ventura Freeway.

“That’s the hottest spot going,” said Los Angeles Police Detective Dexter Owens of the West Valley Division. “It is such a high-dollar area that a lot of criminals from outside areas come in to prey on victims.”

Owens said the cluster of Encino apartment buildings between White Oak and Lindley avenues has become a special target of thieves shopping for leather jackets, car stereos, cellular phones or anything else of value left in autos tucked away in subterranean parking garages.

Police records show that criminals slowed the pace of attacks on people this year, turning their attention to cars instead.

By the end of November, Los Angeles police had received 17,847 reports of car burglaries in the Valley, a 1.3% increase over the same period last year. The Valley was the only region in Los Angeles to experience a jump in car burglaries. Citywide, the rate fell 5.9% through the first 11 months of the year, compared with 1993.

Los Angeles police detectives have identified several “hot spots” in the Valley, neighborhoods where thieves have broken into thousands of cars in search of loot.

In the East Valley, two neighborhoods of apartment buildings--one in the Studio City and Valley Village area, the other in Sun Valley--attract so many car burglars that police estimate they account for 75% of the entire North Hollywood division’s 3,713 car break-ins.

And in the Van Nuys Division, detectives report the bulk of auto burglaries take place along Ventura Boulevard, mostly in Sherman Oaks. Through the end of November, thieves had broken into 772 cars of shoppers and diners parked along the boulevard and its side streets.

“They’re getting hit and it’s not just nighttime; it’s daytime too,” said Detective Ernie Guzman of the Van Nuys Division.

Devonshire and Foothill station detectives say their auto burglaries are more spread out, making it more difficult for police to conduct undercover surveillance at known hot spots.

The Foothill Division had the largest growth in car burglaries in the Valley this year, with a 9.3% increase. That was followed by a 7.3% increase in the West Valley Division and 5.5% jump in the Devonshire Division, according to LAPD statistics through Nov. 30. By comparison, the North Hollywood Division reported a 3.4% drop and there was a decrease of 7.1% in the Van Nuys Division. West Valley topped the list in volume, with 4,609 auto burglaries, followed by 4,052 reported incidents in the Van Nuys Division, 3,713 in the North Hollywood Division, 3,209 in the Devonshire Division and 2,264 in Foothill Division.

Police say car burglaries can have an emotional impact on victims, particularly those who have been hit repeatedly.

“I’ve had people crying and screaming, ‘Where are the police when you need them?’ or ‘How come you don’t have an officer in front of my house 24 hours a day?’ ” said Detective Phil Toledo of the North Hollywood Division. “You can’t blame them, but we can’t cover every street corner. (Car burglaries) are going to happen.”

But detectives say a shortage of officers and other resources is making their fight difficult, especially when they are directed to pay closer attention to violent crimes such as murders, rapes or robberies.

“If you had a police officer on the corner of every street you wouldn’t have a problem,” Toledo said. “But we don’t have the manpower to patrol these subterranean garages and apartment complexes, and they are the targets.”

In response to the rising numbers, police have conducted stakeouts, employed the help of community watch groups and increased the frequency of patrol cars driving through neighborhoods plagued by car burglaries.

Investigators say burglars are drawn to apartment buildings with underground garages because the concealed locations allow thieves to work without notice by pedestrians or passing traffic.

Burglars gain access to the garages by simply waiting for a resident to open the gate and drive in. And since many apartment dwellers are not familiar with their neighbors, a burglar seen inside a garage can easily be mistaken for another resident, Toledo said.

In many cases, car alarms fail to ward off burglaries because most people these days ignore them, detectives say.

In North Hollywood, Toledo said the bulk of car break-ins are committed by drug addicts stealing to support their habits.

“These guys walk the streets, they walk the alleys and they walk the subterranean garages,” Toledo said. “They see something they can sell and then they smash the windows and in a matter of seconds they’re gone.”

Indeed, it is a crime in which a moment’s worth of work can reap hundreds of dollars in profits. A video camera caught one burglar disarming an alarm and removing a stereo in less than 10 seconds, said Owens of the West Valley.

Most detectives agree that the crimes are committed by many burglars, operating independently.

However, earlier this month, Owens said, detectives in his division arrested three men who are suspected of working as a team to burglarize seven cars. At the time of their arrests, two of the men had radios in their hands and a third man was caught with another radio inside a getaway car, which had been reported stolen, he said.

“These guys were probably good for other robberies as well,” Owens said.

Police say that drug-addicted burglars are looking for items they can resell for cash. A leather jacket or a sports bag that may contain a wallet are likely to catch a crook’s eye. And in addition to car stereos, even air bags are being stolen.

Cellular phones appear to be emerging as the item of choice among burglars who smash in windows, grab the phones and are gone in seconds, police say.

“We’re averaging about 40 stolen a month,” said Toledo of North Hollywood.

Keeping luxury items from view of potential thieves or out of unattended cars altogether are two ways residents can avoid car burglaries, police say.

But even then, said Guzman of the Van Nuys Division, “Any time you leave property in your car, you’re making it a target.”

* LOOKING BACK: Crime drops, but ’94 is a year of tragedies. B1

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Tips on Avoiding Auto Burglaries

Los Angeles police detectives suggest these precautions to avoid being a victim of auto burglary:

* Remove from view any property that a thief may find attractive. Thieves walk along city streets and through parking garages seeking out valuables.

* Know your neighbors. If you see a stranger behaving suspiciously, call police.

* Park under a street light or near a bright area.

* Get involved in community volunteer programs. Learn how to act as an extra set of eyes and ears in your neighborhood.

* Consider installing a car alarm. Police warn that skilled thieves can disarm an alarm in a matter of seconds. But the alarm may deter the less-skilled criminal.

* If your car is burglarized, file a police report. Such reports help police spot problem areas.

* Mark your cellular phone or stereo with a driver’s license number. Record the serial numbers of car phones and radios.