As burglaries and attempted break-ins continue to unnerve Encino neighbors, city officials assured Thursday that it has intensified “crime suppression strategy” as Mayor Karen Bass plans to meet with community members.
The Los Angeles mayor has been communicating with Encino residents, who wrote her a letter with a list of demands to keep their community safe.
Mayor Bass is set to meet with Encino residents Thursday evening via Zoom to hear more from the community on edge.
One of the actions include the city’s decision to have more LAPD officers patrol the area on foot or on horseback while the police helicopter monitors activities from the sky, especially during the evening and late night hours, according to the mayor’s office.
The LAPD has also deployed license plate readers to capture data on vehicles used by criminals while working more closely with the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s burglary/robbery task force to track down organized burglary operations.
The LAPD is also actively reaching out to Encino residents on social media and sharing burglary prevention tips, the mayor’s office said.
Another request from Encino residents was increasing public safety in the Sepulveda Basin, where a homeless encampment and activities among the unhoused have created public hazard at times, including an explosion that injured a firefighter.
“Under the leadership of Mayor Bass, brush clearance is starting in the Sepulveda Basin this morning – also one of the key requests in the letter,” the mayor’s office added.
The Encino community has been grappling with a spike in break-ins as organized criminal crews with sophisticated tactics, such as using Wi-Fi jammers to disable security systems.