ValleyVote Update for 12-22-00 |
We are sending you this E-mail as you have requested to be notified concerning ValleyVote
See our Website and all the Updates are archived on our site.
It is loaded in indexed html (standard internet form) for easy loading and searching instead of the usual hard to load pdf file which is like a document under a thick glass cover and just a accessible. LA City is prone "cover" documents in this manner.
As a side note LA City removed the link to their Ad Hoc Committee on Secession from their opening web page it is still on their server at http://www.lacity.org/councilmen/secession/index.htm
By Joseph Giordono Staff Writer
Driven by professional thieves, vehicle thefts jumped sharply in the city of Los Angeles during the first six months of 2000, while suburban areas reported declines, according to FBI statistics released Monday. Vehicle thefts in Los Angeles rose 12 percent from 12,846 to 14,421 between Jan. 1 and June 30, the FBI reported. The trend has continued with a total of 28,412 auto thefts throughout the city as of Dec. 16, according to the LAPD.
In the San Fernando Valley alone, thefts had risen 4 percent as of Dec. 16, or 10,607 as compared to 10,191 during the same period -- slightly higher rate than the city as a whole. Los Angeles police detectives said about 60 percent of thefts citywide were carried out by professional thieves, with the rising number of teen-agers in the population also to blame for the increase.
Despite the increase, LAPD officials eliminated the Valley's specialized Community Enforcement Combating Auto Theft unit last week as part of a series of changes designed to get more patrol officers on the streets. The LAPD is having trouble recruiting new officers and is reassigning 168 officers to the senior lead program and dozens of others to Internal Affairs to comply with a federal court consent decree agreed to by the City Council.
The auto theft unit was responsible for a 59 percent reduction in auto thefts and burglaries over the past five years, according to officials. "We are taking a wait-and-see attitude on what effect it will have on crime numbers. We haven't projected anything as of yet," said Cmdr. Val Paniccia, assistant commanding officer of the Valley Bureau. "But by putting some of these officers back in patrol cars, we are hoping that there will be a trade-off and we will be able to get some of this expertise back down to the patrol level."
The skyrocketing auto theft rate is in line with an overall increase in violent crimes and homicides in Los Angeles, reversing a long decline. Yet many suburban communities included in the FBI's six-month statistics reported declines or small increases in car thefts.
Auto thefts in Burbank went from 294 to 299; Glendale declined from 376 to 359; Palmdale went from 292 to 207; Santa Clarita rose to 131 from 117; and Lancaster increased slightly from 196 to 200.
About 75 percent of all vehicles stolen are stripped for parts, Paniccia said. And the Valley, with its abundance of industrial parks, plays a key role: It has long been home to over half of the region's dismantling yards, he said. "What we are seeing is an increase in the number of `legalized' chop shops," Paniccia said. "These are less than above-the-board body shops in the Valley that have legal licenses, but get most of their parts secondhand or from stripped vehicles."
About 25 percent of the thefts are drug-related carjackings or joyriding, and 15 percent are carried out by teen-age first-timers, he said. "I think it is just a matter of supply and demand, and the fact that demographically you are getting a lot of kids just now reaching the age where they participate in these crimes," said Lt. Joseph Freia, head of the Los Angeles police Burglary-Auto Theft Division. "As you get more kids that age, you get more thefts. It is a part of the cycle of crime that we see in a lot of areas."
As thieves become more familiar with the various security systems and protection gimmicks on the market, Freia said, they gradually become more adept at circumventing them.
Other communities reported little fluctuation from the previous year.
In Glendale, car thefts fell from 376 during the first six months of 1999 to 359 in 2000 -- statistics that neither thrill nor surprise Glendale Police. Burbank's motor vehicle thefts increased by only five, from 294 in 1999 to 299 this year.
In Palmdale, Sheriff's Capt. Terry Judge attributed the decline to greater use of anti-theft devices and awareness by car owners and Neighborhood Watch groups. "When the neighborhoods get involved, that kind of community involvement spreads to the bad guys, who say, hey, these people are watching," Judge said.
Simi Valley, the nation's safest large city, showed a sharp decrease in vehicle thefts, from 99 during the first half of 1999 to 57 during the same period this year. In Santa Clarita, law enforcement officials said the rise can be traced to certain vehicles: Hondas, Toyotas and small pickups.
"We have a lot of vehicles targeted by car thieves," said Lt. Tim Peters of the Santa Clarita sheriff's station.
Simi Valley police attributed the drop to patrol officers blanketing the city in search of suspicious activity. "There is a reputation out there that if you are going to caper in Simi Valley, then you're going to get caught," said Lt. Rex Jones. "The footnote to that is that prosecutions in Ventura County are also as aggressive as our crime prevention tactics, and sentencing is more harsh than Los Angeles County."
Ventura County sheriff's deputies covering Thousand Oaks said the increase in vehicle thefts, from 62 to 71, was not significant. But they said they will step up efforts to stop the thefts. "Obviously an increase by nine vehicles is not something we're happy about," said Deputy John Garner. "I'm sure we'll focus on any crime that has risen."
Overall, the FBI crime statistics reflect the increase in violent crime that Los Angeles police have been tracking over the past year. Murders in the first six months increased to 247, up from 196 in the first six months of 1999. Rapes increased from 637 to 734, and aggravated assaults increased from 14,692 to 16,203.
By Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer
Believing their presence will help deter crime and maintain Simi Valley's stance as the nation's safest city, the Police Department has assigned reserve officers to patrol local shopping centers this week.
"What we've experienced is that we have a drop in the crime rate at the shopping centers we patrol," said Lt. Niels Winther, who is in charge of the reserve program. "It's a consensus that the environment has become safer."
Two pairs of reserve officers will monitor a half-dozen shopping centers in patrol cars and on foot, from 5 to 11 p.m. through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, he said.
"They are voluntary, noncompensatory community members who are sworn police officers," Winther said. "They are giving their time to provide an additional level of protection at the shopping centers." While reserve officers have the authority to make arrests like any Simi Valley police officer, Winther said he hopes the patrols will deter crime so arrests won't be necessary.
"We want to be visible deterrents," Winther said. "If there is more of a police presence, hopefully, it will deter a criminal from ruining someone's holiday."
LAPD: Operation involving planting of dummy packages in parked cars is being shelved.
By HANG NGUYEN, Times Staff Writer
Forced to deploy more officers to patrol, Los Angeles police have decided to shelve their seasonal anti-theft efforts in San Fernando Valley shopping centers. As part of "Operation Holiday Surprise," police planted dummy packages in parked cars, hoping to catch thieves breaking into vehicles.
Plainclothes teams would also cruise lots watching for car thieves. The effort had to be canceled this year because Chief Bernard C. Parks ordered a redeployment of officers from special units, such as the auto theft detail, to patrol, said Det. Robert Graybill, who supervised the auto theft program in the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Bureau.
An LAPD spokesman called the loss of Operation Holiday Surprise unfortunate, but said there is a greater need for officers to be on street patrol to combat all types of crime. "With limited officers, we don't have the resources to do all the operations," Officer Jason Lee said.
The Valley auto theft team is being cut from 11
members to four, Graybill said.
When the redeployment formally goes into effect
Sunday, the team will be left with one LAPD detective, one LAPD officer
providing administrative support, one investigator from the California Highway
Patrol and one from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Graybill said.
He said that force is too small to staff Operation
Holiday Surprise, which requires teams of about 10 people. Police used one
officer posing as a shopper to park the bait car, and eight officers in four
cars positioned to either block or chase a fleeing thief. A supervisor overseeing the operation completed
the team.
Holiday Surprise used as many as 45 LAPD officers and detectives, plus investigators from the CHP and DMV to survey about 35 shopping malls and strip malls in the Valley. The team went out daily for as many as eight hours a day, from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Since 1993, when the team began the sting operations, it has made 61 arrests involving auto theft or theft of items from cars, Graybill said.
"It was very effective," said Louise Marquez, general manager and marketing director for Panorama Mall in Panorama City. "It sent a great message to criminals to watch out because law enforcement was out there." Fallbrook Mall in West Hills has hired additional security guards because of the demise of the holiday patrols, said marketing director Marie Garcia, who declined to say how many had been hired.
In addition to the termination of the patrols, Graybill said the downsizing of the team will mean the elimination of special auto-theft training for Valley officers. During the eight-hour sessions, offered quarterly, officers were taught how to detect counterfeit car titles, driver's licenses and vehicle identification numbers.
But while the team was scaled back, it was not entirely eliminated as were other special units in the Valley, including one dealing with sex crimes. In keeping the auto theft team alive, Valley Deputy Chief Michael J. Bostic cited the large number of auto thefts in the Valley.
There have been more than 20,000 auto-theft related incidents in the five Valley divisions this year, Graybill said. That's about a third higher than the Central Bureau, which has the next biggest auto theft problem. Graybill calls the Valley a "shopping center for auto thieves and burglaries." Not only are there large numbers of malls with parked cars, but there are also dismantling yards where cars can be stripped, and repair and body shops that offer a ready market for used parts.
Since the unit was created in 1988, 4,000 vehicles valued at $46 million were retrieved, he said. In the past five years, auto theft crime has fallen 59%, Graybill said. "'We'll never be able to do the same things," he said.
Tips for Avoiding Thefts
Shoppers aren't the only ones jamming the mall parking lots these days. Police say thieves are out too, looking for a chance to steal packages from parked cars--or even the cars themselves. Here are some tips police recommend to avoid becoming a victim:
* Park in an area with a lot of pedestrian
traffic.
* Lock packages in the trunk. Visible boxes are a
temptation.
* Always take the keys out of your ignition if you
pull up to a loading area to stow packages. Thieves have been known to slide
into the car and drive off while the owner was putting purchases in the trunk.
* Keep your purse with you, and keep the car keys
out of sight. Thieves have been known to follow shoppers from the parking lot
into a store, stealing keys from a purse while it is unattended.
* Be alert. If you see several people hanging out
in the parking lot watching people come and go, park somewhere else and notify
the shopping center's security team.
Police: The redeployment will put 26 officers now working on the specialized teams back on patrol duty.
By HANG NGUYEN, Times Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Police Department will eliminate three of its four specialized units in the San Fernando Valley this month as part of its effort to put more patrol officers in the field. The Valley redeployment, part of a citywide plan announced last week, was described in detail Tuesday by Valley Deputy Chief Michael J. Bostic.
"Our job is responding and preventing crime, and those units are investigating crime," Bostic said during a meeting with Van Nuys business owners. "What they do is important, but I still think patrol is more important," he said.
Chief Bernard C. Parks has ordered the redeployment, to take effect by Dec. 17, in response to an increase in violent crime and an attrition rate that has left the department with 800 fewer officers than three years ago. Currently, 28% of the Valley officers are involved in non-patrol duties. The redeployment will lower that to 15%, Bostic said.
The Valley bureau will eliminate three units that handle cases out of all five Valley LAPD divisions. They are the sex crimes Registration Enforcement and Compliance Team (REACT), Covert Operations to Battle Recidivist Activities (COBRA), a plainclothes surveillance team and the Information Reporting Office (IRO), which fills out crime reports via telephone. Twenty-six officers in these units will be put back in patrol, and five detectives will be reassigned to other investigative posts.
Sex crimes detectives will take on the additional work of REACT. Work done by COBRA will be picked up by the Special Investigation Section (SIS), another surveillance team that handles cases throughout the city. The phone calls on such incidents as burglaries, auto theft and stolen cell phones that IRO now handles will be transferred to officers at the front desk.
Officer Telly Epperson, who has been with IRO for two months, sees a problem with this move. "People who walk into the stations are going to have to wait 10 times as long," because the officers at the front desk will have to handle additional phone calls, Epperson said.
With car theft a major problem here, the Valley auto theft team--Community Effort in Combating Auto Theft (CECAT)--will be retained, but seven people on the 11-member team (which includes investigators from the California Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles) will be reassigned, Det. Kenneth Belt said.
Except for the sex crimes unit, the other special teams are based at the LAPD's Van Nuys Division and Valley headquarters. The sex crime unit was founded in 1997 and is based at the Foothill Division. COBRA, created in 1983, is the oldest Valley team. CECAT began in 1988 and IRO in 1996.
* I recently spoke to a patrol officer from [the Los Angeles Police Department's] Devonshire Division. He said that there are now less then 100 patrol officers to cover the division when there should be 250. This is when the department has enlarged the area of the division to cover parts of Panorama City. The officer has told me that recruit classes have been canceled due to insufficient hiring and that many officers are going to other departments due to Rampart and the policies of the chief.
If there is such a drastic drop in police personal in just one division, is the same true for the city? I know that observation arrests are down because of the heavy workload as well as the morale problem within the department. I think the city should be aware of the lack of officers who are there to protect and to serve.
BILL DWORIN Valencia
The recent drop in crime in the northeast San Fernando Valley -- following the transfer of more than 20 cops into the area -- reaffirms an axiom of modern policing: Where there are officers, there will be less crime. [ and where there are less officers there will be more crime]. That holds true for all of Los Angeles -- not just the Northeast Valley.
Within the past year, crime had gone up 8 percent throughout Los Angeles and 10 percent in the Valley. Thanks to the LAPD's doubling its efforts and a recent cold-weather spell, the Northeast Valley now shows signs of reversing that trend.
But to achieve the crime drop-off in the Northeast Valley, the Los Angeles Police Department has had to bring in scarce resources from elsewhere. The result is that the welcomed crime drop in one part of the city will likely be followed by commensurate increases in others. That leads to a second, corollary axiom of modern policing:
Where there are fewer officers, there will be more crime. That was clear in the Northeast Valley last weekend. When cops saturated the area Friday night and Saturday morning, gang violence was down. But by Sunday night, the thugs were at it again, attacking one man in Sylmar, then shooting five people and wounding a 14-year-old boy in San Fernando.
The problem is that the LAPD lacks the personnel to put enough cops in all places at all times. With the recent flop of a nationwide recruiting effort, it now finds itself 1,000 officers short -- and heading backward to where it was when Richard Riordan was elected mayor with the promise to add 3,000 officers, a promise that was barely half fulfilled at the peak.
And as the department has become consumed with policing itself, its ability to police the streets has suffered all the more. In the past year, the number of investigated complaints against LAPD officers has doubled. That puts more cops behind desks and shuffling papers, instead of on the streets and walking the beat.
With the impending consent decree slated to cost the city some $50 million a year, it's likely that the number of active LAPD officers will only continue to decrease in the years ahead. That leaves the department desperate to overachieve, stretching itself thin and occasionally saturating high-crime areas.
In the short term, that strategy can pay off. But citywide and over time, when there aren't enough cops, gang members will run the town.
A return to the high crime rates of a decade ago is likely, unless L.A. pays as much attention to beefing up its police force as it does to scrutinizing its every alleged transgression.
The evidence couldn't be more clear: L.A. needs more cops. Just ask the residents of the Northeast Valley
I just downloaded AOL version 6.0 to test it. GREAT news now AOL properly reads HTML mail . I would recommend it all AOL users (except those using Windows 2000 which is not ready yet) to get the free update from AOL. It will make all your HTML mail work so you can see the formatting and highlights and use the jumps to see referenced documents.
But to fully see the update and use the jumps you need to go to the website http://www.ValleyVote.org/updates/index.html and read the update from there with all the information that AOL strips.
We have also received complaints the AOL's internet connection times out before getting to our site. If you are serious about the internet and not the AOL content go to a ISP (internet service provider) and get full unrestricted access to the internet. You can still use content on AOL by connecting via the internet at half price.
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner. **If you friends want to be added to our E-mail list to be notified by E-mail about meetings and issues please send an E-mail with ValleyVote as the subject. We share our e-mail list with no one. Charles Brink Webmaster. If you want to have your name removed from the list just reply with remove as subject |