As the year ends and the holiday season comes upon us, I want to take a moment to address the alleged increase in crime that some residents perceive in our community. While we can't prevent 100% of the crime, I can unequivocally state that we have seen significant decreases in violent crime -12.5% and in property crime -7.5% over the 2015 calendar year.
As you can see from the attached graphs, Residential Burglaries in View Park is down from 68 crimes last year to 33 crimes YTD, a -49% decrease. The entire East End, including View Park, Windsor Hills, upper & lower Ladera Height's, Residential Burglaries are down from 172 crimes last year to 134 crimes YTD, a -22% decrease.
The
attached PDF shows decreases in all crime statistics station wide except forcible rape, 1.9% and grand theft auto, 5.9%. The rape category can be somewhat deceptive, while it is a despicable crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, some rapes, are in definition only. I assure you that
there is not a rapist lurking about in the View Park community. These crimes
were mostly acquaintance type rapes, which is a rape perpetrated by a person who is known to the victim. Examples of acquaintances include someone the victim is dating, a classmate, co-worker, employer, family member, spouse, counselor, therapist, religious official or medical doctor. Acquaintance rape includes a subcategory of incidents, such as date rape that involves people who are in romantic or sexual relationships with each other. Many times rape is reported by teens, that are experimenting with alcohol or other controlled substances. Other times rapes are reported from individuals that "hook - up" in local bars and taverns again consuming alcohol and leave with the suspect. In no way does this minimize the importance of investigating and when appropriate prosecuting perpetrators of these crimes.
With regard to our Auto thefts, We have seen a 5.9% increase, totaling 88 crimes YTD. The majority of these crimes were committed on the Early Morning shift between 1am and 6am. Despite our best efforts which includes saturation patrol, utilizing crime mapping to pinpoint future crimes and utilizing countywide resources, we still saw a slight increase. We will redouble our efforts in this area in the calendar year 2016.
I would also like to share that currently Marina del Rey station is one of only five Stations that have shown a decrease in Part 1 crime year to date. The other Stations are Compton, Altadena, Catalina Island/Avalon and Palmdale.
We could not have seen these decreases without the assistance of the community we serve. I speak for Sheriff Jim McDonnell and the entire 18,000 men and women that work under the LA County Sheriff's banner and thank our View Park community for your historic partnership with the LASD and Marina del Rey Sheriff's Station.
Captain Joseph H. Stephen
Unit Commander, Marina del Rey Station
