More visible police patrols, mounted police, and air support over the San Fernando Valley are being deployed after a rash of home burglaries in the area, with nine break-ins in a 10-day period.
“We all have zero, zero tolerance for what is happening and what’s been happening in the Valley,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during a news conference Monday afternoon. “Today, we are once again surging resources and acting strategically to stop these latest burglaries and apprehend the perpetrators.”
Bass on Friday directed police to increase patrolsalong Ventura Boulevard. Following her announcement, there were two more break-ins in the area.
On Monday, the mayor appeared alongside L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell, offering new details bon increased patrols.
Bass and McDonnell said they hoped the increased police presence would curb the rash of burglaries and result in arrests, but they also stressed that burglaries in the area were down for the year, overall.
Burglaries in the Valley Bureau for the year so far were down 48% when compared to last year, according to McDonnell.
“I understand that when you’re the victim of a burglary, all that matters is that your police department is doing all it takes to keep you safe,” McDonnell said.
In addition to the high-visibility patrols and air support, the department will be adding specialized units and detectives, the police chief said.
McDonnell said many of those resources would come from the L.A. Police Department’s metro division. He added it was unclear how long the additional resources would remain in the area, saying they could be reshuffled if they were needed in downtown L.A. or moved to another assignment as necessary.
“To be able to tell you now how long of a period it would be — two weeks, four weeks —I can’t because it would depend,” McDonnell said. “If we get pulled away for other crime problems, violent crime in particular, that’s going to affect our ability to retain the level of resources we have over an extended period of time.”
However long they last, McDonnell said the department was hoping the increased resources would help lead to arrests.
“Despite budget constraints and resource challenges,” McDonnell said, “we are actively combating, tracking and arresting these burglary crews with all of our energy and resources.”
The announcement Monday came shortly after Bass released a $14.9-billion budgetfor 2026-27 that called for the hiring of 510 police officers, just enough to maintain current staffing levels at the department and cover retirements and resignations.
“We need enough officers to act swiftly and strategically when crime patterns are revealed,” Bass said.
In the recent burglaries in the Valley, some of the break-ins occurred about a mile apart, and others were reported as occurring just minutes apart.
As part of the directive, the LAPD plans to use mobile license plate readers around high-risk areas and hold weekly burglary meetings with detectives.
The first known incident is believed to have occurred April 10 in the 13000 block of Davana Terrace in Sherman Oaks, but was reported to police the following day. Burglars were reported to have worn all black clothing during the heist.
The following day, LAPD officials said, a resident was attacked when he confronted two or three burglars inside his home.
Officers were called to the 7100 block of Macapa Drive in the Hollywood Hills at 9:30 p.m., where the resident said he walked in on the burglars. They reportedly wore gray hoodies and black pants, and fled in a gray Hyundai, L.A. Police Officer Charles Miller told The Times.
A third burglary was reported Tuesday in the 11700 block of Hesby Street in Valley Village at 8:30 p.m., and less than an hour later, officers were called to another burglary in the 12700 block of Hatteras Street, about a mile and a half away.
In both incidents, burglars were gone by the time officers arrived.
Burglars wearing gray hoodies are also believed to be behind an incident in the 6800 block of Vanscoy Avenue in Valley Glen on Wednesday. That same day, officers also responded to the 12600 block of Herron Street in Sylmar, where burglars smashed a back door to get inside.
On Thursday, three men wearing black clothing and masks broke into a home in the 11900 block of Wood Ranch Road.
In Toluca Lake on Saturday night, burglars pried open a window on the second floor of a home in the 4900 block of Strohm Avenue. Hours later, at 3:30 a.m., LAPD officers were called to the 3100 block of Lake Hollywood Drive were called for another burglary, the ninth known incident in 10 days.
No links have been determined among the burglaries, but their proximity and the short time span between the incidents have sparked concern among city officials.
On Monday, McDonnell said patterns in some of the incidents had been noted by detectives and officers.
“These are sophisticated, organized crews, some of which are international,” McDonnell said. “Cases like these require patience, time and, frequently, extensive follow-up.”
The department has encountered gang crews from South Los Angeles that have conducted similar burglaries, as well as crews of South American nationals, McDonnell said.
Some of the crews have displayed similar tactics, he said, such as placing video cameras in front of homes to determine when residents are away, using jammers to disrupt Wi-Fi-based security systems and cameras, as well as using ladders to get inside homes through second-floor rooms.
The crews, he said, have usually targeted high-end purses, safes that are not connected to the floor, cash, guns and anything that could be sold quickly.
The post Police in cruisers, on horseback and in the air to combat surge of Valley home burglaries appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
