Elgin Nelson
Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi recently reported a 4% increase in the number of burglaries in the city for 2024, with more than half of the targeted locations being residences. This marks a shift from the previous year, which saw a spike in commercial and business burglaries.
“These are happening very quickly,” Choi said, explaining that thieves are evolving their tactics to spend less time inside their targeted locations. He noted, “We’re not seeing the entire house being ransacked. These individuals committing these high-end burglaries know what they’re looking for and are in and out in a few minutes.”
Early 2024 crime data indicated that areas patrolled by the LAPD’s Wilshire, Rampart, and Hollywood Divisions saw the largest increase with a slight uptick in occurrences on Wednesdays and Fridays. The LAPD ceased public access to crime data in March to reconfigure its systems to align with new FBI national crime reporting standards, so the Chief’s report could not be independently verified. The partial data also revealed that most burglaries took place during the evening hours.
Chief Choi raised alarms over the increasing incidences of “hot prowl” burglaries, where residents are home during the break-ins. He cited a recent incident in Valley Village where burglars surprised a homeowner and used pepper spray, leading the homeowner to shoot one of the suspects. On a national scale, the FBI reported a 15% decline in property crime, including burglaries, in many other cities during the first quarter of 2024.
Choi also highlighted burglars’ deliberate efforts to disable security systems and cameras. “Burglars are going up to the panels and just turning the power off, then all their systems are down,” he explained, noting that adding a lock on the power panels could deter this activity. Additionally, WIFI jammers are being used to disrupt signal-dependent security cameras, preventing them from recording.
Detectives earlier this week arrested four individuals suspected of being part of a “Reflector Vest” crew of thieves. These suspects allegedly disguised themselves as utility or construction workers and are believed to have burglarized over 30 homes in areas like Studio City, West LA, and West Hollywood.