A recent spurt of robberies occurring near UCLA’s campus
have university police and detectives from the Los Angeles Police
Department working together to find two suspects.
The two suspects identified by police do not appear to be
working together, but both approach victims in a similar manner and
both have handguns.
In all the previous incidents, the suspects approached the
victims while walking alone and demanded money and property,
according to a Los Angeles Police Department community alert.
Most of the victims have also described the suspects as black or
possibly Hispanic, ranging in height from 5 feet 8 inches to 6
feet, weighing 170 to 200 pounds, ages 19 to 24, the alert
reports.
The similarity between a number of the descriptions provided has
also allowed police to release a rendering of the suspects, said
Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services.
The alert indicates that victims are usually walking to their
car or apartment alone and all the robberies have occurred between
the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.
Based upon the police reports, more women than men have been
victimized and a total of nine UCLA students were targeted,
according to a UCLA press release.
As university police and the LAPD work together, there are a
number of safety measures that students are encouraged to take
advantage of, Greenstein said.
“A lot of times we put information out and people
don’t pay attention. When something like this happens,
it’s an excellent opportunity to do some community
education,” Greenstein said.
That education involves reminding residents of Westwood that
they can subscribe to routine e-mails from university police
letting them know what is going on in the community and giving them
information about Community Service Officer Escort Services.
From dusk to 1:00 a.m. any student, staff or faculty member can
call the service and two officers will escort them to their
destination, Greenstein said.
Students are encouraged to utilize such opportunities when
walking home alone at night.
Detectives from both the university police and the Los Angeles
Police Department are working together and sharing information
about the robberies.
“Now we’re coordinating. One of the areas of
interest is communication.
“We didn’t have the picture of the suspects until it
was given to the press. We’re going to work on that,”
Greenstein said.
Contact UCLA CSO Escort Services at (310) 794-WALK.