A pickpocketed cell phone at a crowded nightclub. An overnight auto break-in, with apparently no valuables missing. A robbery on the sidewalk following a night of drinking at the bars.
All three of these specific true-life scenarios share something in common: the victims did not report the crimes to the Sheriff. I’ve heard the reasons:
“No big deal, my insurance will replace my iPhone,” or,
“Nothing was taken, what’s the point in going to the time and trouble of reporting,” or,
“The robber is long gone, and I don’t want to re-live the trauma by talking to the cops.”
But what these people might not realize is that by failing to immediately notify the Weho Sheriff that a crime of that sort has occurred, they may be putting someone else in danger of being the next victim.
Think about it. These criminals will strike again. It might be in a different area, yes. It might be on a different day. But if it happened to you, and they aren’t caught, they will victimize someone else. Calling the Sheriff as soon as possible gives the cops pertinent information that helps establish patterns and descriptions that they can then use to capture the suspects and prevent future crimes from occurring.
Sure, they might not find that robber the same night that you were mugged walking home from the bar. But because information on these crimes is quickly shared across jurisdictions, law enforcement is able to match descriptions and patterns with crimes committed elsewhere.
This type of information enabled Inglewood PD to capture the group of robbers that had committed several muggings in Weho and other places last October. Details shared between departments was crucial when Beverly Hills PD picked up on a Chrysler 300 traveling eastbound into West Hollywood with three young male occupants only a few short nights after they had committed a series of robberies here and all over the west side over the summer. And dutiful reporting of recent break-ins led to the capture last week of a rock-toting burglar after one of our alert local deputies on patrol recognized the suspect based on posters with his description.
None of these successes could have happened without prompt and vigorous reporting by the victims of the crimes.
To be fair, it is sometimes understandable why a person would be hesitant to report a crime: Property was damaged but nothing was taken. Property was taken but no one was hurt. The victim was drunk and didn’t know what to do. Reporting takes too much time out of the busy day. However, I submit to you that by paying it forward and notifying the authorities ASAP — however inconvenient or scary or seemingly unnecessary it may be — you could perhaps save the next potential victim from a crime as bad or worse than the one that happened to you.
So I encourage everyone who reads this: If you’re the victim of a crime, big or small, call our Sheriff Station right away. Don’t text a friend first. Don’t post your experience on Facebook (until later). Your number one priority has to be to get the Sheriff in action! Dial 911 if it’s a very recent or in-progress crime. Or call the non-emergency number at (310) 855-8850 if it’s less urgent. The station will even send a deputy to meet you wherever you are (the more recent the incident, the faster they will arrive). But please call. Someone you don’t know will be glad you did.
I agree. Report all Crime. If the stats get worse, some measures will be taken. It is true, it is difficult to get the Sheriff’s to take an interest. I tried reporting mail theft earlier this year… just for the sake of stats. Finally I succeeded but were I not retired and had the time, I would have had to give up the quest. I do not know what the answer is so I guess it is good to keep the discussion going.
The WeHo Sherriff department are awful. I avoid them at all costs. They are not your friends. I was assaulted leaving a night club by three men who jumped out of their car to assault me and a friend. I took down their license plate, make/model and reported it first thing the following morning.
I waited in their lobby for 50 minutes while they were having a birthday celebration in the back, then they wouldn’t even take down my information.
The problem does not lie within the Sheriff, it lies within the city itself. People complain about the homeless issue but give them money. That is why they’re here. You support them. They also happen to be crooks that break into things & steal. The city is filled with nightlife and with that comes criminal elements. As long as those two things exist, there will be crime in this tiny city. The only person with any sense in the comment section is Weho Jay! He or she gets it! Instead of trying to compare WeHo with Beverly Hills, you would… Read more »
I read these comments and wonder… Would a Weho PD be so dramatically different? Would it change the crime? Would it stop criminals from coming here? Has the Sheriff’s department been that bad since city incorporation in 1984? The sheriifs department is far better than the neighboring lapd….just ask our surrounding neighbors! Weho be careful what you “wish” for, a Weho Pd sounds so good during low points in city law enforcement but just wait and see what it does with budget and policing here. Would creating a PD offer us a supply of fit, in sbape, non-homophobic offcers who… Read more »
Thank you Ben for your caring about others and smart op-ed. I had to show this to my employees, — the other day, a shoplifter ran off with an item from the store..the employee calls me up to tell me and and I replied, don’t call me, call the sheriff and make a report.
Its become so hard to get the sheriff there in a prompt manner that we have to police ourselves.
Your heart is in the right place with reporting any crime and we do have to suck it up and put up with the hassle for the greater community good, but as anyone who has been following this site for at least the past several months knows, the Sheriff’s Department is not doing their job streamlining the process for victims.
I totally agree with this. However, the West Hollywood Sheriff Department isn’t exactly the friendliest or easiest to work with. In fact, their recent behavior has left my neighbor defeated: Recently, someone stole items from my neighbor’s trunk in our “secured parking garage”. Another tenant has their clicker stolen from their car. Several other neighbors had shoes stolen from porch. It was discovered that apparently a homeless person had been storing stuff in the garage.. My neighbor called the sheriff and they encouraged her to come to the station to file a report. she went there and dealt with a… Read more »