San Fernando Valley : OUT-OF-TOWNER CRIME

Did you hear the one about the attempted bank robbery in Santa Clarita earlier this year that looked like a sequel to the movie “Dumb and Dumber”?

Two teenagers from Los Angeles wearing ski masks arrived at a bank about five minutes before it opened. When they realized they were early, they went back to their car to wait. Meanwhile, bank employees saw the would-be thieves and called police, who arrived within minutes and arrested the youths, who were convicted.

Outsiders coming into the peaceful suburban community to commit crimes are one of the town’s biggest public safety problems, said Sgt. Tony Hollins of the Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Santa Clarita under contract with the city.

“There are several people coming in from the Valley who hit us,” said Sgt. Tony Hollins. “Cars are being targeted since they’re easy to get into and so are properties.”

Santa Clarita is a bedroom community with few crimes--in fact, the FBI lists it as the fifth-safest city in the nation--but as its population has increased, so has the number of crimes. Recently released crime statistics show that the number of overall crimes in the area increased from 1,868 in the first half of 1994 to 2,078 this year. Violent crimes are minimal but burglaries, car theft and petty theft are on the rise.

Hollins said Santa Clarita doesn’t have the same kind of crime problems as the inner city, but as the population grows, he said, police are seeing more drugs, including several arrests this year for methamphetamine use and possession.