Tuesday, December 1, 1998
Vehicle burglary rampant in Westwood area
CARS: Thieves frequently target campus parking permits,
electronic goods
By Ann Hawkey
Daily Bruin Staff
With thousands of cars jamming the streets and filling the
driveways of Westwood each day, it may come as no surprise that
local police name vehicle burglaries as the biggest crime problem
in the area surrounding UCLA.
This year, the LAPD has investigated 53 reports of grand theft
auto, and 108 reports of car break-ins in Westwood, with Hondas
being the most popular target for thieves, police said.
"One of the areas that gets hit the most is where the
fraternities are," said Sergio Guzman, LAPD’s senior lead officer
for the Westwood area
Although this area on Gayley Avenue is one of the most commonly
hit, break-ins are reported from all over Westwood.
Suspects in these cases usually enter the car by breaking a
window, and generally take stereos, laptops, compact discs and
anything else that may be in sight, Guzman said.
Car burglaries are not limited to off-campus cars, although the
crime is not as frequent on campus, according to Detective Steve
Blayney, who investigates auto thefts for the university
police.
"Probably the No. 1 crime on campus would be office burglaries,
and vehicle burglaries would be No. 2," Blayney said.
"But off-campus, the car burglaries are going to be No. 1," he
said.
Most car burglaries on campus take place during the daylight
hours and usually in the parking structures, rather than in the
lots, because it is easier to remain inconspicuous in large
structures.
Although UCPD deals regularly with burglaries from cars, grand
theft auto has not been a major problem at UCLA, Blayney said.
"Once in a rare while we’ll see maybe four or five cars go in a
few days, and that’s when we concentrate patrol," Blayney said.
"One of the reasons it’s infrequent is, if you consider the
square mileage of the area here, we’ve got a lot of cops. Most
criminals aren’t dumb – if they see all these cops, they’re going
to move on," he said.
Parking permits, however, are a frequent target for car
break-ins on campus, with several reported stolen each week from
various parking lots, and many cases showing no sign of forced
entry.
Last year, parking enforcement officers recovered over 150
permits that were reported lost or stolen or were fraudulent
permits.
"Any type of break-ins to vehicles that involve the theft of a
permit is certainly something we want to avoid," said Stephen Rand,
manager of parking, traffic and adjudication.
"On the other hand, the number of cars that are broken into that
have permits stolen are a very small percentage of the total number
of cars that display a permit on a daily basis," he said.
Thefts of parking permits are generally more opportunistic
crimes, and many thieves may not understand the seriousness of the
offense.
Blayney said many thieves may see an opportunity to take a
parking permit out of a car, such as an unlocked door or empty
garage and decide to go through with the crime without any
premeditation.
"They think it is relatively minor, but it could conceivably be
a felony, depending on how they got into the car," Blayney said.
"That lure of saving $300 to $400 for a permit is just too strong
for some people."
Stolen parking permits are easily traceable, though, because the
permits are numbered and assigned individually, and parking
services and the police have a list of all the stolen permits,
Blayney said.
If a car is found displaying a stolen permit, the vehicle could
be impounded, and the owner is required to explain him or herself
to parking enforcement officials, who will then determine what
legal action should be taken.
Suspects in more traditional car burglary cases can be harder to
track, although police said they eventually catch most of the
offenders.
"I would say we get all of them eventually, but they may commit
numerous crimes of that type before they’re caught," Blayney
said.
Police said simple steps, such as locking car doors and putting
away valuables, can be taken to prevent car break-ins, both on and
off campus.
"First and foremost, don’t leave anything exposed in your car,"
Guzman said. "The chances of being broken into are lessened if you
don’t have anything exposed."
Police statistics have shown a significant decrease in car
burglaries and thefts so far this year, which Guzman said could be
related both to public knowledge of how to prevent the crimes, as
well as the implementation of California’s "Three Strikes" law.
"There has been a decrease since the three strikes law has been
put into effect," Guzman said.
"If you’re convicted of two and you’re trying for three, you’re
looking at 25 to life," he said. "That’s not a very appealing
picture."
DAVID HILL
LAPD reports that car burglaries are the biggest crime problem
in the Westwood area.
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