DEAR WEHO: We must acknowledge that crime is real … and deal with it realistically

You’ve felt it, I’ve felt it, our neighbors and friends have felt it. Crime in West Hollywood is escalating at a dangerous and alarming rate, day by day. In the past two years, how few of our buildings have been left unscathed by package thefts? crime, public safety, lasd, sheriff’s department, burglary, home invasion,

In my condo building on the 1400 block of N Laurel Avenue, just south of the world-famous Sunset Strip, we’ve had daytime intruders since 2020 on a regular basis, often taking advantage of the prevalence of disposable masks to evade identification, who have swiped from doorsteps and even broken into our mailboxes. We’ve all had to install more cameras, more locks, more gates. Still, our efforts alone are not enough.

On Saturday morning between approximately 3:50am and 4:10am, July 9th, my building fell victim to a break-and-enter invasion by two as-yet unidentified suspects. A single man first attempted to breach the main front entrance, which he was unable to do. A secured side gate was his next attempt, again, a failure. Undeterred, the suspect ultimately gained entrance by breaking through the secondary front doors, adjacent to our courtyard. Seconds later, a second accomplice joined him. They then made their way through cars in the garage, trying door handles one by one until they landed on an unlocked Audi, stealing everything inside. They then made their way on foot from the garage through the ground floor hallway, inches from sleeping residents’ front doors, swiping any packages from doorsteps they could find.

The homeowners’ association of my building is alarmed, as are all of our residents and tenants. What is the next iteration of the crime wave West Hollywood is facing if not actual home invasions into condos, apartments, and homes? Since compiling security camera footage in the past day, our HOA has begun the official process of filing a police report with the West Hollywood station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, whose deputies are en route as I type this.

It is time for WeHo residents to say “enough is enough” and acknowledge that crime is real. It is not something one can wish away out of idealistic thinking. We must back the sheriff and the police departments here in West Hollywood and in Los Angeles City. We must advocate for harsher punishment to deter crime and give prosecutors the ability to protect us once again. We must hold elected officials to once again side with law-abiding citizens and reject their pandering emboldenment of criminality in an era of virtue-signaling wokeness. Next time it will be your building, your car, your home, your bedroom, your life.

— Dean, HOA at 1420 N Laurel Ave.