LAPD Seeks to Register Businesses for Database

Hoping to increase efficiency in dealing with business burglaries, officials at the LAPD’s Devonshire Division are beginning a drive to register area businesses in a new computer database.

Participants will be asked to provide after-hours emergency contact names and numbers, which will be stored in the database at the police station on Etiwanda Avenue.

The business will display a numbered decal, corresponding to its computerized file, for officers to see.

“We’ve had officers waiting for two hours after a burglary for someone from the business to show up because we couldn’t reach them,” said Devonshire Capt. Joseph Curreri. “This should fix that problem.”

Business owners will also be asked to provide a floor plan of their business, to be used if officers arrive when a burglar is still present and a standoff develops, Curreri said.

Registration for the program begins Tuesday, between 7:45 and 9 a.m., at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 19700 Rinaldi St.

Participants will be asked for a $25 donation to offset the expense of the program. They will automatically become members of the already existing Business Watch program.

Curreri said he believes the computerized registration is the first of its kind within the Los Angeles Police Department and is hopeful it will be used department-wide.