Collaborative Efforts Lead to 12 Arrests and $1 Million in Recovered Property
The Brentwood Community Council shared information about the two Town Halls held by the West Los Angeles Police Department in a recent email. The purpose of these events was to address the rising trend of residential burglaries in the Westside, encompassing areas like Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Bel Air.
There was a surprise during the second town hall as the West Los Angeles Police (WLAPD) revealed the arrest of 12 suspects, involving collaboration with LAPD, Beverly Hills Police Department, and Glendale Police Department.
Of the arrested suspects, 11 are believed to be part of the same burglary ring from South America, while one is linked to a local gang engaged in residential burglaries. WLAPD announced the recovery of over $1 million in stolen property and is actively working to return the items to their rightful owners. They also shared photos of unreclaimed stolen goods, urging potential owners to contact Senior Lead Officer Matthew Kirk at 34713@lapd.online.
While optimistic about a decrease in Westside burglaries due to the arrests, WLAPD cautioned residents to remain vigilant. The officers shared tips on how to keep your home and belongings safer, which included:
- If you have an alarm system, be sure to set it up whenever you go out, even if for a short period of time. Have glass breakers as part of your alarm system. Also, be sure that all windows and doors are alarmed; several burglary rings operating on the Westside enter the premises from a second-story window or balcony door. Breaking the glass to gain entry is common.
- Consider having a protective coating installed on your glass windows and doors. This protective coating makes it more difficult – and time-consuming – to break through the glass and gain access.
- Have a dog, and make it known you have a dog with signs on your gates.
- Lighting – keep your outdoor areas well-lit at night. Have some interior lighting on timers so that lights go on and off at different times indoors. Consider leaving a television on while you are out so that the residence sounds occupied.
- Cameras help “harden the target,” the target being your home. Video surveillance helps with arrests and gives the neighborhood a bad reputation with would-be thieves. Use a wired camera when possible; burglars are jamming wireless cameras.
- Secure your valuables. Thieves are targeting cash, jewelry, watches, expensive handbags and weapons. If you have a home safe, be sure it is bolted down; consider multiple safes and locations other than bedrooms.
- If someone breaks into your home, make noise. We were told during the town hall that, typically, the burglars do not want confrontation and will run if someone is in the home.
- Stay in touch with your neighbors. Watching out for each other is vital to making our neighborhood safe.
- Keep a list, with serial numbers, along with photos, of all watches and jewelry pieces so that when stolen property is recovered, it can be matched back to its owner.
- Some of the burglaries involve the suspects entering from someone else’s yard through a backyard or side yard. Use environmental barriers, such as thorny plants, that make entering the backyard or side yard more difficult.
- Some burglars are watching neighborhoods via drones. If you see a drone looking at your and your neighbor’s properties, let LAPD know through the non-emergency line: 1-800-ASK-LAPD, and also email Senior Lead OfficeMatthew Kirk,at 34713@lapd.online
- Place tracking devices, such as Apple Air Tags, in your safe and in any expensive handbags. Some stolen property has been able to be tracked and recovered from the use of these devices.
