By Mary O’KEEFE

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept.-Crescenta Valley Station wants the public to know the department is working hard to mitigate burglaries in the area including vehicle and residential incidents.

Deputies are patrolling the neighborhoods and reaching out to the community to work together to reduce burglaries.

Lt. Ryan Vienna said there are some things that residents can do to help protect themselves from being the victims of burglary.

First and foremost, residents should make certain to lock all windows, doors and gates that lead to back and side yards of a residence.

Securing vehicles is also important. Do not leave valuables in a car, especially overnight. Make certain the car’s doors are locked. Often criminals walk along the streets trying every vehicle door handle looking for those that have been left unlocked.

After a burglary some neighbors will recall seeing an unknown vehicle in the area or suspicious activity, like an unfamiliar person entering the backyard of a residence; however, they often don’t call the station at the time.

“The public can contact [LASD] with any and all suspicious activity,” Vienna said.

There are times when residents are notified by their alarm company or a surveillance system that someone is on their property, but they do not immediately contact law enforcement. It is advised that they make that contact with law enforcement. Neighbors should also feel free to contact law enforcement if they see something suspicious.

CV Station Captain Rob Hahnlein said he wants the public to feel they can contact the station with any concerns. Although only recently being promoted to captain at the station, he has plans to create regular coffee with the cops-type outreach and will establish an area watch program.

Hahnlein and his deputies have been at several events where they speak to the public about concerns of burglary, including the recent wave of catalytic converter thefts. The station has worked with Los Angeles County to have free catalytic converter etching events. This program etches the vehicle’s VIN on the converter so, if it is stolen, there is a way to prove from what vehicle it came.

La Cañada Flintridge has Flock safety cameras placed in a variety of areas. The cameras use automatic license plate recognition technology that can read the plates of passing vehicles. These cameras have been invaluable for the station alerting them to stolen vehicles.

In addition the station provides information handouts that can help residents be proactive to make their homes less desirable for burglary.