Crime wave prompts watch fever
La Cañada residents have been ramping up domestic vigilance recently, responding to a rash of home break-ins that began in December with increased interest in neighborhood watch groups and creating forums for public safety.
In their mission to edify themselves on how to keep the city from seeming like a golden goose for would-be burglars — close to freeways with large homes obscured by landscaping, unlocked or open doors and windows and belongings left in plain sight — neighbors began learning the tricks of the trade.
Now, La Cañada residents are finding new ways to proactively police their neighborhoods by sharing what they’re seeing and discovering with a wider audience.
The Facebook group “LCF Community Watch” was created in March so locals could quickly communicate public-safety matters to neighbors and residents in other parts of town. Started by Rora Melendy, a La Cañada native now living in La Crescenta, the page allows homeowners to post crime prevention tips, photos of suspicious vehicles or breaking news-style crime alerts.
“People may be home and see something,” Melendy explained the rationale behind the group, now followed by more than 350 residents. “My intention was creating a space online for people to do something about it.”
Cydney Motia, who lives near La Cañada Elementary School, is a co-captain of her neighborhood watch group but became more deeply involved in crime prevention in January, after she saw burglars fleeing the scene of a Fairview Drive burglary and called the local sheriff’s station.
She and fellow co-captain Mary Smith talked with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Eric Matejka, who helps establish watch groups in town, about what more they could do to reach others. The trio ran an informational booth at the Memorial Day Fiesta Days celebration and are planning on hosting a National Night Out crime prevention event.
Motia said the goal is to make La Cañada Flintridge an undesirable place to burglarize.
“If more people get caught, (burglars) might say, ‘we’re not going to go to La Cañada because people are paying attention there,’” she added.
These days, thanks to the influence of social media, information about crimes can be shared shortly after they occur, and neighbors can quickly weigh in with tips about how to prevent future incidents.
Matejka said deputies at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station have ramped up patrols and have made several recent arrests, in some cases with the help of citizens’ tips. His hope is that one day, watch group efforts will become the norm, and not simply rise and fall in response to apparent crime waves.
“It’s not just because we’re catching people that (crime) is going to stop,” he said. “Crime has been going on since the cowboy days. You just have to be vigilant about your stuff and watch out for your neighbor’s house.”
Meanwhile, residents who have gotten the message about the continued need to keep neighborhoods safe will look for more ways to spread that message further.
“If there’s a problem, there has to be a solution,” Melendy reasoned. “We’re intelligent, creative people. Let’s find a solution.”
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
