At last week’s Echo Park Improvement Association meeting, officer Robert Hill provided us with an update from the Northeast Division Police Department. Here are some notes from that update:

• The Northeast Division made three arrests made last week, including a 19-year-old on Valentine Street and two juveniles breaking into a house. Since those arrests, Officer Hill says there haven’t been any similar break-ins since (as of the meeting date, which was on June 3).
• Since residents cleaned up the Lucretia stairway on May 15, Officer Hill says there are no more “kids” hanging around anymore.
• Kids and teenagers have been recently experimenting with these plants called “trumpet flowers,” and two or three students (Hill said three, The Eastsider LA is reporting two) were recently found skipping school and appeared to be under the influence of this poisonous plant (by ingesting the plant, some people believe it has hallucinogenic properties, but is actually quite deadly). The Eastsider LA has the full story here.
• Car break-ins are still occurring around Dodger stadium, especially on Laveta Terrace.
• There was a narcotic arrest off of Scott Avenue near Portia, in which first responders were responding to a domestic dispute and drugs were found in the residence.

Here are some of the crimes that have occurred since June 1:

June 1: Two violent robberies, one theft from vehicle

June 2: two thefts from vehicle, three personal/other thefts

June 3: one theft from vehicle, one violent robbery, two aggravated assaults

June 4: four thefts from vehicle, one personal/other theft

June 5: One theft from vehicle, two aggravated assault

June 6: One aggravated, one personal/other theft, two thefts from vehicle, one violent robbery

June 7: Two thefts from vehicles, one aggravated assault, and one property burglary.

June 8: One theft from vehicle

Be safe out there! Keep any “stuff” out of sight in your cars as the usual electronics (iPods, phones, computers) seem to always be the target.