LAPD Reports Increase of Theft, Burglary in Year-to-Date Crime Data

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officer for Pacific Palisades Brian Espin reported year-to-date crime data as of Tuesday, October 22, which revealed an uptick in burglary and theft, but downward trend for reports of grand theft auto and burglary/theft from vehicles.

The numbers were given during the virtual Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting on Thursday evening, October 24.

When it comes to burglary in Pacific Palisades, there were 76 reports in 2024 as of October 22, compared to 67 in 2023 at that time, which marked a 13.4% increase. For theft, there were 78 instances reported year-to-date in 2024, compared to 67 at this time in 2023, which is an increase of 16.4%.

During the presentation, Espin referred to a map, which had symbols for each of the reported crimes. He noted that the burglaries are “pretty much spread out all over the area in the Palisades,” while thefts are clustered more-so in places like the Village area and near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard.

Burglaries have increased “all over LA and the Westside and the Valley,” Espin explained, due to the burglary crews—some of whom have been identified.

“Our burglary detectives have been able to identify several crews working,” Espin said. “Now they’re just trying to narrow down the actual individuals to pin them on the crimes. So we have our specialized units that are following these guys around. They’re getting search warrants to put trackers on cars and phone tags, they’re doing all of that.”

For grand theft auto reports, there has been a 40.5% decrease, with 25 reports as of October 22 in 2024 compared to 42 at that time in 2023. There has been an 18.4% drop in reports of burglary/theft from motor vehicles, with 120 reported year-to-date to October 22 compared to 147 at the same time in 2023.

During summer, Espin said, there was a crew that was “breaking into the cars along the beach in the parking lots.” They would also go onto the beach and take keys out of bags from people, mainly surfers, who were using the beach to access their cars.

“We were able to catch a few of those guys,” Espin said. “The sheriffs were able to catch a couple of them. They’re a group of people that were working together, but we were able to at least nip that for a little while.”

Reports of Part 1 crimes—including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, were all down in year-to-date numbers as of October 22.

LAPD changed its reporting system, Espin explained, which has made it more difficult to produce a map with all of the crimes the department is monitoring that could be distributed to the public. He described it as pulling information from “two different systems,” which does not produce one cohesive map.

“They’re still working on that,” Espin said.

When it comes to keeping neighborhoods safe, Espin said he is a “big proponent” of Neighborhood Watch, whether it’s a formal group with the signs and block captains or informal among neighbors.

“It is very important to have communication with your neighbors—especially on your street, especially within your couple blocks—and letting your neighbors know what’s happening,” Espin said. “I know a lot of people want me to be here 24/7 to give out every piece of information possible, but it’s not possible to do that. So that’s why it’s coming on the neighbors to keep an eye out on each other as well.”