Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin Provides Year-End Crime Statistics

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

As 2022 came to an end, Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officer for Pacific Palisades Brian Espin provided crime statistics for the year as of December 24.

When it comes to property crimes in Pacific Palisades, the total number of reports through December 24, 2022, were 382 compared to 438 in 2021—a decrease of 12.8%.

In 2022, reports of burglaries remained close to the same, with 77 reports in 2022 compared to 78 in 2021. Grand theft auto saw no change, with 48 reports in both 2022 and 2021.

Reports of burglary/theft from a vehicle were down 16.2%, with 181 reports in 2022 compared to 216 reports in 2021. Theft saw the biggest decrease—20.8%—with 76 reports in 2022 and 96 in 2021.

“We did better than last year, but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down,” Espin wrote in the email.

Espin offered several tips for residents when it comes to preventing crime in the area—the first was looking into security window film.

“There are many different brands and companies that make shatter-proof window film,” he explained. “I recommend looking into what type works for your home. This is just another added measure to make it harder for our criminals to get our stuff. When someone smashes a window, it’s usually just one hit. The film makes it harder to smash and obviously the person has to hit the glass several times, creating more noise—which they do not want.”

Espin also highly recommended downloading the MyLA311 app, which allows users to generate “a multitude of city services, ranging from street services, Department of Sanitation and Department of Transportation.” If a service request is made, the user will receive notifications of the status and outcome of the request.

Another tip is for residents to get a security system in place that gives instant notifications if someone is on a property. This particular tip helps LAPD if residents can see someone is in their house and can provide a good description of the suspect(s).

“It will bump our response up to a priority call instead of a non-priority—alarm only,” he explained. “If you have security cameras on your property, it is helpful for an investigation to have one or more cameras angled toward the street or sidewalk. Investigators can back track areas where people are seen coming from based on video footage. Hopefully with other cameras showing vehicles or other suspects, investigators can obtain valuable information.”

Espin also reminded Palisadians to secure (lock) their houses and vehicles, and to not leave valuables out in the open in vehicles: “Let’s make it harder for these criminals to get our stuff.”

Other tips in the email included to be aware of surroundings, keep bushes and trees in front of houses trimmed, as overgrown foliage can provide a hiding spot for a burglar, lock side gates, and get to know neighbors, as good communication about things that are seen that may be suspicious can be a good strategy to be visible and deter criminal activity.

“Let’s keep up the momentum into the new year, I hope you all have a prosperous and satisfying upcoming year,” Espin concluded. “Remember to take care of each other in our community. Take care and be safe.”