At the November PRNC Board meeting, LAPD Senior Lead Officer Dario Del Core and Sergeant Jose Torres spoke to the community about two important safety challenges facing Porter Ranch: Residential thefts and street racing. They noted that Porter Ranch is fertile area for thieves because there is little activity during the day as most residents are at school or at work. For this reason, most (but not all) residential thefts take place during the period of 9 am and 4 pm. The more common method these thieves use is what is commonly referred to as the “knock-knock” method where they knock on the door, and if no one answers, they know that no one is home. They then go onto the side or back, where they are less visible, and break into the house. They mostly steal small items that they can grab quickly and exit, get into a waiting vehicle, and leave the neighborhood before anyone notices, or even before LAPD officers can respond to an alarm (assuming the house has one). Sometimes, they may hit 2 or 3 homes in sequence.
LAPD officers stressed that the most effective deterrence is a Neighborhood Watch program, and they strongly encouraged residents to to form such a program in their neighborhoods. LAPD can provide a lot of assistance in setting up the program. If any neighborhood is interested in learning more about forming a Neighborhood Watch program, they are encouraged to contact Senior Lead Officer Dario Del Core at (818) 637-0577 or Senior Lead Officer Danny Del Valle at (818) 832-0875. The other deterrent that the officers suggested is a camera surveillance system.
As far as street racing goes, the good news is that it is not an organized group of street racers terrorizing our streets, but the bad news is that it seems to be people who live in the area. If one witnesses street racing in the area, LAPD recommends contacting their non-emergency number, which is (877) 275-5273. While they acknowledged that a patrol car many be able to get there in time, they noted that, sometimes, they may have an air ship in the area, and they can quickly dispatch it to patrol the situation.
Becky Leveque is the Chairperson for the newly formed Public Safety Committee, if you are interested in participating in this committee please email her at BeckyLeveque [at] PRNC.org
Devonshire Neighborhood Watch Meeting Schedule
