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Be On the Alert for “Scammers” At Your Doorstep

From Captain Bill Murphy in a Northeast community newsletter sent out this afternoon:

Hello, just wanted to update everyone on a problem that has been occurring in Silver Lake and possibly Franklin Hills. A male Caucasian, in his 20s, has been going door to door asking for donations. He uses different pitches to try and get residents to give him money. One of these is that he is a member of the USC Baseball Team and he is collecting money for the team to attend an upcoming baseball tournament. Another is that he grew up in the area “don’t you know my parents?” then requests a donation to assist him to pay for his schooling. Anyway, whatever the pitch is you should be cautious. He begins by being very charming but when it becomes evident that the residents are not going to give him money – he becomes agitated. To date, we have not heard that any of the incidents have escalated beyond this. There were rumors flying around regarding him pushing residents, etc… but we have no reports that this ever occurred. He appears to simply be a scammer seeking donations door to door.

Also, some residents are worried that his actual purpose is to “case” their home for a future burglary or distract them so another person could steal from them. While it is possible that he is casing – I do not believe that this is the case. Generally, suspects who case an area do not want to bring attention to themselves. They are there to quietly select targets. The last thing they want to do is go door to door getting into arguments with residents – it bring way too much attention on them. And I do not believe he is committing distraction burglaries either. We have no reports of this and all the information I have simply talks about him being by himself trying to solicit donations.

An alert witness wrote down a license plate of a vehicle he may be using. We are working this up and I have placed extra officers in the area. We should be able to find him and find out what he is up to (book him if we can). The acts that he has committed so far (aggressive solicitation with fabrication) amount to low-level misdemeanors.

Here are some strategies to use on people seeking donations at your door:

1. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if you do not know who’s there.

2. Do not give any personal information whatsoever during the conversation.

3. Do not become engaged in a long discussion – they are good communicators and want to break you down to get a donation.

4. If the person persists, tell him to leave literature about his cause and you’ll take a look at it – be polite – but tell him you have to go.

5. Call LAPD Northeast Area (213) 485-2563 if you see him or he comes to your door. My officers will be alerted to this problem.

Thanks Bill

26152@lapd.lacity.org

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Sunday’s Arrests on Duane and Echo Park Ave

via andysternberg on Flickr

We recently noticed this Flickr photo in our Echo Park Now Flickr group, uploaded on Sunday, March 6. Well, thanks to the Eastsider, we think we know what this was all about. According to this post:

“…in Echo Park on Sunday afternoon, police detained some males near the intersection of Echo Park Avenue and Duane Street as part of an investigation into a potential burglary. But Murphy said the ‘investigation determined no burglary and they were released.'”

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LA Police seek help finding Echo Park suspect

L.A. Now posted a story this morning about the L.A. police search for a rape suspect. Here’s the story:

Los Angeles police asked for the public’s help Thursday in finding the man who raped a 15-year-old girl in Echo Park on Christmas Day.

The girl was walking in a secluded area near Echo Park Lake about 7:30 p.m. when she encountered the man, who raped her then fled the scene, police said. The girl was treated at a hospital.

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s, possibly Latino, about 6 feet tall and between 160 and 170 pounds. He wore prescription glasses and was last seen wearing a black, hooded sweat shirt with white horizontal stripes, and he had a piercing on his lower lip.

Video of the suspect was captured by a surveillance camera at a nearby liquor store.

“Usually in our cases, where there is a later date, the detectives were following some leads and they probably have exhausted all of them, so they’re turning to the public for help,” said LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman.

Anyone with information about the attack or the suspect should call sexual assault detectives at the LAPD’s Rampart Station at (213) 484-3624. During non-business hours, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

Click here to view the L.A. Now article.

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Northeast Division Neighborhood Crime update

Here’s some excerpts from the Northeast Community Police Station newsletter from Captain Bill Murphy

Hello everyone. This newsletter will focus on giving all of you an overview of last year’s crime. We had a really good year – we reduced crime for the eight straight year. But our mission to continue this trend is going to be extremely challenging. I do not have to tell you how bad the economy is today – with an unemployment rate of almost 13% in the City (higher if you consider those who have stopped looking for work). But the most troubling issue we may face this year is the potential release of approximately 30,000 prisoners from our correctional system. It is estimated (no one knows the true numbers right now) the County of Los Angeles would possibly get half of these with the City of Los Angeles getting the lion’s share of this number. The release of the prisoners is due to two factors: a federal judicial mandate to reduce overcrowding in the correctional system; and a bleak state government budget that may require dramatic cuts in the correctional budget – hence pris oner releases.

As of right now, we are being told that the prisoners (if released) will be non-violent offenders. This means that they probably went to jail for property-related offenses such as GTA, BTFV, 459, or narcotics charges. Unfortunately, property crime happens to be NOE Area’s biggest crime problem – auto-related crime alone accounted for 52% of our crime – and we may very well get dozens or even hundreds of these types of prisoners released onto our streets. Know that we are already planning for this and will use every prevention, intervention, suppression, and re-entry strategy available to keep you safe and your quality of life high. With that let’s talk about last year’s crime.

Crime Terminology

187: Homicide

211: Robbery

BTFV: Car break-in

GTA: Car theft

AGG: Shooting, stabbing, or assault not resulting in death

459: Burglary of a residence or business

261: Sexual Assault (rape)

NOE Year End Crime Statistics

Homicide: Down 42.3% (15 vs. 26)

Rape: Down 47.4%

Robbery: Down 1.5%

AGG: Down 11.1%

Shots Fired: Down 18.9%

Shooting Victims: Down 30.3%

Total Violent Crime: Down 11.1%

Burglary: Down 20.1%

GTA: Down 15.0%

BTFV: Down 7.5%

Larceny: Down 14.0%

Total Property Crime: Down 12.8%

Part I (Total Crime): Down 12.5%

* Ended year with EVERY category of crime down – very hard to do this
* We had 836 less serious Part I crimes than the year before
* NOE Area ranked THIRD in crime reduction Citywide (out of 21 police stations). We held first place for almost nine months. Missed second place by one tenth of one percent

(probably 6-10 crimes out of over 5800 reported)

And for Echo Park, the Neighborhood Crime Update is:

We had a serial BTFV suspect hitting multiple vehicles all across NOE. An observant resident of Echo Park called in a suspicious person and a patrol unit responded immediately. They detained the suspect who was wearing a black hoodie (sweatshirt with hood) and gloves on his hands as he approached his vehicle. The officers conducted an outstanding investigation. The suspect’s vehicle was literally filled with stolen property from 16 different BTFVs he committed that day! Our Auto detectives came in on their day off to debrief the suspect. He copt-out to committing dozens of car break-ins throughout NOE. Auto detectives were able to get the judge on the case to increase the bail to 50 thousand dollars (high for a property crime).

Unfortunately, the suspect’s mother bailed him out immediately and we are monitoring his activities. This arrest led to a dramatic decrease in BTFV’s. We do have a strong case and will press for a fast prosecution. Our undercover officers actually arrested him hours after he was released with property from additional victims. He was brought back before the judge who imposed a $400,000 bail. Mommy could not bail him out of this amount!

Good News: Part I crime Down 12.4%, Homicides Down 66%, (3 vs. 1), AGG Down 34.8%, 459 Down 32.7%, GTA Down 29.4%, and BTFV Down 3.8%.

Needs Improvement: Robbery Up 13.% (4 crimes), and Larceny Up 10.9% (7 crimes).

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Graffiti and car break-in in Echo Park

Posted earlier today on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council Forum by Dan Berlant:

“It was wonderful to wake up this morning to a neighborhood full of new street art.  Ridge Way, Douglas, Kellem and others all got hit last night.  Anyone have a pressure washer that could be borrowed to remove some of this?  The neighborhood really looks like shit.  Also saw a car got broken into last night on Douglas between Kensington and Ridge Way.”

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Last night’s police activity

Courtesy Eastsider LA

Courtesy Eastsider LA

Last night’s police and helicopter activity closed off Echo Park Avenue between Effie Street and Duane Street. According to Eastsider LA, as of 12:05 AM officers had apprehended the suspect.

“A police helicopter hovering over Echo Park tonight is part of a search for a suspect who dropped a gun following an investigation in the 1900 block of Echo Park Avenue, according to an officer at the scene. No shots were fired, the officer said.

“Police have blocked off Echo Park Avenue between Effie Street and Duane Street. The search appears focused on the hills to the east of Echo Park Avenue near Lucretia Street.”

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Break In on Douglas Street in Echo Park

An alert to people living in northeast Echo Park: my roommates laptop was stolen out of his room yesterday. It probably happened sometime in the early afternoon while me and another one of my roommates were at home. However, we didn’t hear anything as we live two floors above him.

He accidentally left his window unlocked which is street-level and is just a few steps away from the sidewalk. We’re assuming that the thief just opened up his window and grabbed whatever he could find close by which would have been his laptop (oh, and a jar of change). It was most likely someone looking to make some quick cash or just wanting to have a little “fun.”

Learn from our mistake, and don’t forget to lock your windows as well as your doors. And beware of anyone loitering or snooping around. And, of course, the non-emergency police phone number for Echo Park is 1-877-275-5273

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Via email, Bradley of the Northeast Community Police Advisory Board (NOE CPAB) notified the community of several gang arrests that occurred this morning at around 4:00 am in the Glassell Park, Cypress Park, and Echo-Elysian Park communities and surrounding areas. The notification continues as follows:

“This morning at 0400, your Finest the Northeast Los Angeles Police Department participated in a coordinated effort to arrest and detain Gang Members and those harboring criminals in the Glassell Park, Cypress Park, and Echo-Elysian Park Communities including surrounding areas. Several arrest were made with controlled raids on properties that housed Gang Members with the LAPD seizing weapons, narcotics, and other gang paraphernalia though-out the Northeast/Central Areas. Any/all tools available to the LAPD coupled with the Gang Injunctions were employed to assist in the arrest of Gang Members and wanted criminals in our communities Unfortunately, Northeast CPAB Members have been given very little information to disseminate to concerned Residents in the affect areas.”

There will be a community meeting tonight held by Council Representatives, LAUSD, and the NOE LAPD at Washington-Irving Middle School (3010 Estara Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90065-2205) from 6pm-8pm to address any concerns. “The LAPD, City Attorney’s Office, and other local agencies that assisted in the coordinated efforts, will be able to provide you with updates and arrest numbers with commentary from Captain William Murphy and Brass on steps to take to help improve your Neighborhood,” the email details.

For more information about the meeting, you can contact Danny Roman via e-mail at 22195@lapd.lacity.org

Click here to view the location of the meeting at Washington-Irving Middle School.

The LA Times also posted this story about the early morning arrests.

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Anti-Graffiti Website Launched

graffiti

The LAPD has just announced the launch of the city’s new Anti Graffiti website, http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org, created by The Office of Community Beautification, Board of Public Works.

The email sent out today provided the wrong website address, so make sure to go to the correct address provided here.

The site is meant for residents requesting graffiti removal from public and private property. The email that went out today from the LAPD notes, “Structures not included in this service are schools (maintained by LAUSD), freeways (maintained by CalTrans), and parks (maintained by Recreation and Parks).”

It also states that most requests will be serviced within 72 hours.

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Police activity last night in Echo Park

DSC01820_2

Last night a police helicopter flew low around Echo Park with spotlights shining around Echo Park Avenue and Morton. Police cars blocked off Scott Avenue at Laveta Terrace, and Parmer Avenue for about 20 minutes.

According to a post on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Councils Forum, the police were searching for a man reported running through backyards.

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Neighborhood Crime Update

Captain Bill Murphy of the Northeast Division has posted the following Neighborhood Crime Update for Echo Park:

NOE Crime Update

The year to date (YTD) crime statistics will cover from January 1, 2009 through July 11, 2009. The weekly crime maps I will be looking at will cover between July 5th through July 15, 2009.

I may also comment on other high profile events that have occurred the last month in NOE.

YTD Violent Crime: Down 8.5%

YTD Property Crime: Down 21.1%

YTD Part I (total): Down 18.9%

YTD Homicide: Down 55.6% (8 vs. 18 last year)

YTD Robbery: Up 0.4% (up one crime versus last year 249 vs. 248 )

  • All categories of crimes (except robbery) are down significantly compared to last year
  • We are down 688 total crimes YTD
  • NOE Area ranks FIRST in crime reduction City-wide (out of 21 police stations)

Neighborhood Crime Update

Echo Park

The area around Sunset Blvd and Glendale Blvd continues to be a problem for property crime (mostly stolen cars). We have increased patrol in this area and made a few arrests.

You can contact Captain Bill Murphy at 26152@lapd.lacity.org

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LAPD’s Crime Map Omits Nearly 40% of Serious Crimes

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Police Department’s public crime database omits nearly 40% of serious crimes reported in Los Angeles:

LAPD’s public database omits nearly 40% of this year’s crimes

The discrepency was discovered while the Times was creating their own map to display the LAPD’s crime data. The Times reports that the omissions are due to a programming error. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though the database is due for an overhaul anytime soon.

For concerned citizens that would like to keep themselves up-to-date on serious crimes being reported in Los Angeles, the Homicide Report and your local news are always helpful resources.

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Find out why an LAPD Helicopter is flying overhead

LAPD Helicopter
Ever wonder why that LAPD Helicopter is flying over your house or neighborhood? Checking that your doors and windows are locked in case there’s a car chase or fugitive out there? LAist posted a few months ago this article siting a phone number you can call to ensure there’s no danger lurking outside.

That number is 213-485-2600. Feel free to call when you have concerns, I have yet to get anyone to answer the phone but let us know if you have better luck!

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