The Democrats can continue to insist (with the help of the legacy media) that crime rates are actually going down until they are blue in the face. But the LAPD and the residents of greater Los Angeles would beg to differ. Not only have property crimes continued to surge around the city, but they are spreading into new neighborhoods and the criminals are employing less common methods in an increasingly brazen fashion. The LAPD is currently investigating a wave of what they describe as "hot prowl" burglaries over the past weekend, particularly in East Hollywood and the Silver Lake neighborhood. In at least one incident, a female victim was sexually assaulted in her own home in addition to being robbed. (CBS News)
Police are investigating a string of home burglaries that occurred in East Hollywood and Silver Lake on Saturday, including one that resulted in the sexual assault of a female victim.
The "hot prowl" burglaries, which usually take place when the victims are still at home, happened early Saturday, according to Los Angeles Police Department investigators.
While information on the incidents was limited, police are urging the public to remain vigilant.
This is a disturbing trend for the locals to observe. East Hollywood had, until fairly recently, been considered one of the safer (or at least moderately safe) neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Their average crime rate last year was 54 crimes per 1,000 residents. By comparison, nearly Elysian Park racked up an average of 126 crimes per 1,000 locals. At the current rate, however, East Hollywood will likely be joining that unfortunate club by the close of 2024.
The police began advising residents to "turn on all exterior lighting, lock all windows and doors, and be aware of any suspicious persons or vehicles." I'm sure that's generally prudent advice for anyone, particularly those living in urban areas. But the older, traditional methods of enhancing home security may not be quite as effective these days when dealing with evolving tactics among criminals. That's probably especially true for those who find themselves in the path of these hot prowl burglars.
So what do the police mean when they talk about "hot prowl" burglaries? That was a new term to me, but CBS recently published an explainer piece covering the details. Traditionally, thieves seeking to burglarize people's homes have tended to wait until there was either nobody home or the residents were at least asleep. That's not the case with this crew in East Hollywood.
But what exactly is a "Hot Prowl?"
According to the Escondido Police Department, a "Hot Prowl" is "a burglary when a subject enters or attempts to enter your home while someone is home."
"A hot prowl burglary is dangerous because of the possible confrontation between the subject and victim," the department said on its website.
While people should still be advised to keep their doors and windows locked, more stringent defensive measures are clearly required. It's bad enough to come home from your grocery shopping trip and discover that your apartment has been broken into and looted. It's a far more terrifying scenario to be relaxing at home and hear someone in the process of breaking in. That is clearly how the unfortunate female victim in the story above wound up being sexually assaulted.
The police recommend that you call 911 if you detect such a burglar trying to forcibly enter your home. It's worth a try I suppose and you should at least make the effort to report any crimes taking place. But having a phone in your hand may not prove all that productive, particularly in these circumstances. The LAPD's response time to 911 calls lately has been nothing short of pathetic (unless you are an elected official being robbed.) Calling the cops when someone is already attempting to break in the door will likely not do much for you. You would be far better off taking shelter behind a piece of furniture and greeting the burglar with a loaded firearm pointed at them. That tends to get people's attention quickly and you might even drive them off if you're lucky.
