Car break-ins on the rise in Griffith Park
There's been a rash of car break-ins at Griffith Park, and police want visitors to be vigilant.
The LAPD says they have seen an increase of vehicles being broken into and ransacked around the park -- especially rental cars that are likely being driven by tourists visiting from out of the area.
So far this year, the LAPD has seen 121 break-ins at Griffith Park, with thieves getting away with valuables like purses, luggage, cameras, passports, and plane tickets. Investigators are using surveillance cameras in and around the park to try to track the break-ins, and they say may have detected a pattern.
"We have been tracking organized theft groups that have come from Northern California" who are using rental cars, LAPD Detective Michael Ventura said. "When we work backwards, we can see where the cars were rented and that they originate in Northern California, come down here, and they go throughout, whether it's in Griffith Park, Hollywood Division, and sometimes we'll even see them out in Venice Beach."
City officials want visitors to Griffith Park to be on alert, so new signs urging drivers to "Lock It, Hide It, Keep It" are going up around the park. Visitors are being reminded to keep their property in the trunk of their cars to keep their vehicles from looking like a tempting target.
And rental cars appear to be particularly vulnerable to being broken into, because thieves believe they contain more valuables.
