Sergeant Jason M Duron of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station gave a report on crimes and public safety issues during the most recent Public Safety Commission meeting on Monday, June 12, 2023.
According to his update for the month of May, West Hollywood Station personnel responded to 1,681 calls for service with 88 of those calls being an emergency response. During that month, deputies made 63 felony arrests and 145 misdemeanor arrests. West Hollywood Station Part 1 crime is down for the month of May with 215 incidents compared to May of 2022 that had 281.
Part 1 Crime broken down by areas of the city, the West District of the city, 58% of those Part 1 crimes occurred there, a total of 125. City Center accounted for 12% with 26 total incidents and the east district, 30 percent with 64 total incidents. In comparison to last year, the west district was down about 36%, the center section was down about 39% and the eastside was down about 58%. The overall crime numbers were contributed to theft related incidents, grand theft, petty theft, vehicle burglaries–that was the majority of the Part 1 crimes in the month of May.
Sergeant Duron reports that the east end of WeHo theft numbers have been driven up by retail thefts recently. There is a location on the east end that’s been targeted by thieves frequently and detectives and special teams have been working with the staff at that location to try to combat crime and reduce those numbers.
During the month of May, there were 37 pickpocket incidents. All of these involved cell phones thefts and other personal items taken from victims that were in a nightlife venue in the Rainbow District.
Catalytic converter thefts showed a drastic decrease in the month of May. The City only had five thefts for the month of May. There were 25. The Station has had continued interest from the public in doing another etching event to try to prevent and deter this type of crime. The West Hollywood sheriff’s are currently planning an etching event for the beginning of July.
Regarding burglaries the City had seven residential burglaries for the month of May.
Grand theft auto or stolen vehicles incidents for the month of May were 6, which is a 70% decrease from last year at this time.
There were two reported rapes in the month of may. Both incidents, the perpetrator was known to the victim. The Sergeant was not allowed to elaborate further.
As a response to the recent thefts at a retail locations, Entertainment Police Teams (EPT) spent numerous hours conducting foot beat patrols in and around that location. These additional patrols have resulted in catching thieves in the act.
As a response to the increase in pickpocket theft, the EPT team conducted an undercover operation just this past weekend. As a result of their hard work, deputies made six arrests and recovered 18 stolen cellphones, just in this past weekend. As part of that operation, deputies contact club and bar management and staff to keep them aware of continuing incidents of pickpocketing. They also provide information to help those businesses to deter that type of crime and ask for any feedback that they need to help deter that type of crime within those businesses.
Regarding traffic related incidents, there were six DUI arrests in the month of may, three of which involved traffic collisions. There were no reported scooter or e-bike incidents in the month of May.
Some notable crimes that occurred in May. On May 7th, at 2:59 a.m., there was an incident that occured on the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente. A suspect was driving a silver mini cooper and hit three pedestrians with his vehicle. At the type he was speeding away from an argument that occured on the crosswalk. All three victims had minor injuries. This incident did make local media and is still currently under investigation.
On May 16th at 5:05 a.m., there was a smash and grab robbery that occurred on the 8400 block of Sunset Boulevard, on the local business. A window was smashed and a large group of suspects entered the location, taking numerous items from the store. West Hollywood detectives have made an arrest in this case and have an ongoing investigation that may lead to additional arrests.
There have also been some recent inquiries at the station and media attention regarding a dog poisoning incident that occurred in West Hollywood. Detectives along with animal control are currently investigating those incidents and those reports.
Regarding the recent WeHo Pride event, there were sixteen arrests during pride. There were no significant crime incidents within the pride festival, but there will be more information in next month’s report.
Thank God, we need a little bit of hope.