Friday, April 19, 1996
The Club and fancy alarms are no match for professional thieves.
Police stress using basic precautions.By Marie Blanchard
Daily Bruin Contributor
David Bridgewater, a third-year UCLA medical student, has qualms
about parking in the campus parking structures.
"I definitely think about it twice and I look around with a wary
eye when I leave my car," he said.
After all, he has had his car stolen twice from the same
on-campus parking structure in the last three years, despite using
The Club and taking the face plate off his stereo when he
leaves.
"Both times it was parked in a visible area of the structure and
it was stolen in broad daylight. I guess I shouldn’t have washed it
the night before. It must have looked too clean," Bridgewater
said.
In the last three months, more than 200 autos have been broken
into and 33 cars have been stolen. Of these, only 12 have been
recovered.
University Police Detective Mark Littlestone agreed that auto
thefts and burglaries are a problem on campus. He cited a steady
increase in auto vehicle-related crimes in the last 10 years.
"With this many parking spaces and the affluent area that
surrounds the campus, UCLA has a big problem with auto thefts and
auto burglaries," Littlestone explained.
Only a month ago, UCLA student Hector Cedillo was arrested for
allegedly breaking into cars in and around the UCLA campus.
According to university police, an estimated $50,000 worth of car
stereos, CDs, car speakers and car parts  such as tires,
convertible tops and Porsche rims  were found in Cedillo’s
apartment.
Much of the equipment discovered was believed to have been
stolen from UCLA students and faculty. Cedillo was allegedly caught
breaking into a vehicle last month in a parking structure on
campus, and police believe that he had been burglarizing vehicles
in and around campus since last November.
Approximately one to three cars are stolen a week on university
property, according to Detective Tony Deuñas. Most are
recovered within the next few weeks, he stated, but as time goes
by, the odds of recovering the vehicle are drastically reduced.
Dueñas claimed not to notice any distinctive pattern in
burglary and auto thefts.
"It really goes in spurts, there is no particular time of year
where there are more thefts," he maintained.
However, Littlestone said he has seen a general trend for
mini-trucks theft, especially Toyotas and Nissans.
Littlestone also believed that General Motors cars from the
1980s are popular amongst Los Angeles gang members who come to UCLA
to steal cars.
"Gang members generally like older cars," he said.
In fact, many on-campus burglars are not affiliated with UCLA,
police asserted.
"With 20,000 parking spaces on campus  more than LAX
 car thieves can basically find any make or model in any
color. This makes UCLA a prime target," Dueñas said.
But Littlestone added that professional thieves are not the only
burglars. Littlestone said that about 50 percent of the thieves
they catch are what he calls opportunists. These are students,
faculty and staff that may see something in a car that appeals to
them and then try to break in.
"They may say ‘that looks nice’ as they pass a car in a parking
structure and then check to see if the doors are unlocked,"
Littlestone explained.
In contrast to the more than 200 cars burglarized on campus in
the last three months, Westwood Village has only seen 3 car
burglaries, including one auto theft. This is because Westwood is a
smaller area that offers higher visibility than the campus parking
structures, explained Los Angeles police Officer Ricardo
Balaños.
To deter auto thefts and car burglaries, Dueñas suggested
that drivers hide their valuables and bring removable stereos with
them.
"We’ve caught burglars that tell us they look in the car to see
if there are valuables in sight  cell phones, stereos, CDs
… Car alarms and clubs don’t stop them."
He also reminds drivers to lock their cars.
"People will forget to lock their doors and thieves will just
grab the parking permit," Dueñas said. But Littlestone warned
that even if you have a car alarm and you hide all the valuables it
still won’t deter professionals.
"It reduces the risk, but not significantly. Professionals know
what they want and how to get it," he said.
Police also asked that witnesses to suspicious activities in
parking structures call the them immediately.
"If you see someone walking around trying to open different car
handles, call immediately. It doesn’t help us if you call later
when you get home," Dueñas said.
Police also stressed that the most important way to prevent a
large loss is to write down the serial number of whatever valuable
equipment you have in the car.
"We have a room filled with stereos that we have seized from
burglars but we can’t give them back until we are certain that it
belongs to whoever is trying to claim them. We need proof,"
Littlestone concluded.
If your car has been burglarized in or around the campus in the
last nine months, police ask that you contact Detectives
Dueñas or Littlestone at (310) 825-9371.
CHARLES KUO
University police Detective Tony Dueñas displays stolen
items recovered from cars parked on campus.