Wilshire crime decreases for 10th year; partnerships credited

| January 31, 2013 | 0 Comments

CRIME PREVENTION, REDUCTION are ongoing goals of Wilshire Division commanding officer Capt. Eric Davis and Capt. Lillian Carranza, who heads the division’s patrol officers.

Despite a rise in burglaries in the area, crime is down five percent overall for the Los Angeles Police Department Wilshire Division for the 10th year in a row.

Capt. Lillian Carranza, commanding officer for the patrol division, said that robberies and auto thefts are each down more than 25 percent in the Hancock Park and Windsor Square areas served by senior lead officer Dave Cordova. Additionally, violent crimes fell from 53 in 2011 to 47 in 2012. She attributes the overall decrease in large part to community involvement, and she expects 2013 to be even safer.

However, property crimes, including burglaries and burglaries from motor vehicles continue to plague the area. Carranza admits that deterring property crime is challenging. “It’s hard to sustain a decrease. It is low-risk to steal property. These burglars are in and out in 20 seconds, and the property they steal is easily turned around. Plus, the criminals know that even if they’re caught, they won’t spend a lot of time in jail due to overcrowding.”

That’s where partnership with the community comes in. “We have community members come into the station all the time. They are asking questions and holding us accountable,” she said.

Carranza points to Park La Brea residents, who hadn’t had a neighborhood watch meeting in years. “We were seeing burglaries there, so senior lead officer Perry Jones helped organize an upcoming meeting. We have to have the community involved. They are our eyes and our ears.”

“It’s a partnership,” she added. “Citizens write down license numbers and take pictures of suspicious cars and text them to their senior lead officers. We’ve actually been able to arrest suspects with the help of those photos.”

Wilshire Division’s commanding officer Capt. Eric Davis concurs. “My message is always about partnerships. It’s about community outreach, getting involved, building relationships. And understanding that the key is the real-time, responsible dissemination of information.”

Carranza credits the overall drop in burglaries from motor vehicles in the division to its “Lock It, Hide It, Keep It” program in which officers encourage motorists to keep their cars locked and their iPods, computers, iPads and phones out of view.

Wilshire’s 2013 goals are consistent with department goals, said Capt. Davis. “Crime reduction is the foundation. To that end, we’ll continue to work with different agencies, not-for-profits, neighborhood associations and faith-based organizations.

“Every day we are looking at trends and developing strategies,” said Davis. “We seek out and appreciate feedback. We, along with the senior lead officers, are always willing to attend meetings in our community, whether large or small.”

 

 

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Category: Community

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