In the last few days Crestwood Hills and the immediate surrounding vicinity have experienced an uptick in burglaries. Please read the following Community Alert we received from Officer Maria Gray of the West Los Angeles Community Police Station.
Letter from Officer Maria Gray:
May 30, 2018
Detectives know from experience that crime tends to rise during the warmer, summer months. Burglary detectives specifically, also know this to be true, as do the burglars who make their living by stealing your stuff. But more importantly, do YOU know this? Have you prepared for this fact of life in Los Angeles?
Folks tend to leave their homes for extended getaways and vacations during this season. The other factor is that residential windows are more often left open and/or unsecured due to the heat. We have experienced a sharp and notable spike of burglaries (four in the last few days) within the Brentwood area bordered by Saltair Ave on the east, Mandeville Canyon on the West, Sunset Blvd on the South and Hanley Ave on the North. Specifically (and rounded to the nearest 100 block for the sake of privacy) they have occurred at:
· 5/24/18, 800 block of Hanley
· 5/26/18, 200 block of N. Saltiar
· 5/29/18, 800 block of Hanley
· 5/29/18, 700 block of Kenter
· 5/29/18, 1000 block of Hanley
In some cases, the burglars accessed the homes through side or rear kitchen windows—windows that were either left open/unsecured or were pried/forced open. Detectives have also mentioned to me that in some cases, the homes were quite concealed by high fences and landscaping. While this affords people privacy, it also allows for burglars to walk comfortably around your property without being seen from the street or by neighbors (please consider making environmental design changes to remedy this). At present time, there is no suspect or vehicle description that I can share with the community. If things change, I will send out a supplemental notification. Property taken has been jewelry, watches and cash.
For those of you who have already heard these suggestions, please excuse the redundancy, but at present, one of the best tools to protect your home today is a system of instant notification. You want a system that has your smart phone alert you immediately when someone is at your front door, AND alerts you when they are along either side of your home, AND alerts you when they are to the rear of your home. Nothing less will suffice, in my opinion (and the opinion of many of my fellow officers). The traditional home alarm systems can be a very low priority in terms of police response, but if you call 911 and tell the operator that you see someone in your backyard right now, and here’s their description and here’s what they’re doing, the priority gets bumped up to a lights and sirens scenario and the likelihood of the thief or thieves getting caught or deterred goes up considerably. So does the likelihood that you’ll retain your possessions.
These systems are relatively inexpensive, easy to install with either rechargeable batteries or hardwired or even solar options. To see examples of these systems in action, go to www.youtube.com and search ‘Ring Video Doorbell’ Helps Bust Gang Member in Home and just scroll from there.
Please monitor the criminal activity in your neighborhood via www.crimemapping.com. Through this website, you can receive email alerts as to what’s going on in the radius and time frame you choose.
Feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
Maria
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EMERGENCY: 911
NON-EMERGENCY: 1-877-275-5273
All other City Services: 311
Website: www.lapdonline.org
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What you can do.
In addition to reviewing the information and safety tips shared by Officer Gray, we are looking for people to help form a neighborhood watch—cited last year by Detective Brian Espin as an effective community defense. If you are interested in being part of a Crestwood Hills Neighborhood Watch, please email hello@crestwoodhills.com.
Neighbors are also joining together on a block-by-block basis to hire patrol security services. The Crestwood Hills Board does not endorse a specific company, but ACS Security has provided the Association with a contact number for those interested in using ACS services. If you are interested in ACS Security, please contact us via hello@crestwoodhills.com and we will send you the representative’s contact information.