By Dominique ROCHA

On Tuesday, Aug. 19 residents of the Sunland-Tujunga area met with local officers from the Los Angeles Police Dept.–Foothill Division for the monthly meeting of Tacos with Cops.  

Every month, Joselito’s Mexican Food in Tujunga hosts a neighborhood watch-style meeting where residents and officers of the area can meet to discuss crime and safety concerns. This month’s Tacos with Cops meeting was led by Senior Lead Officers Caloca and Godoy, Area Representatives Ricardo Flores and Arthur Javadyan and guest speaker Detective Piantanida. Piantandia was on-hand to provide information on auto crime and offer helpful tips on how to keep residents safe. 

One area of auto crime that has been occurring is the theft of license plates. One way that residents can protect their cars against license plate theft is by using license plate screws. These screws are a security measure that requires a special tool be used, and can help prevent theft.  These screws are available at the Foothill police station. 

While vehicle theft has decreased this year, it is still a significant auto-related issue in the community. 

“This year, the Foothill area is down 30% year-to-date in vehicle theft,” Piantanida said. “Of that, the weekly average is between eight and 14 (vehicles stolen) for 40 square miles.”

Piantandia added that the most common ways vehicles get stolen are from people leaving their windows down or cars running. 

The discussion opened up to resident concerns. An ongoing issue Sunland-Tujunga residents face is the number of homeless encampments in the area. Residents voiced their concerns and asked questions regarding the next steps in the removal process.

“We’ve been having issues with ‘floating encampments,’” Caloca said. 

Floating encampments are encampments that continue to move, making it difficult for law enforcement to step in. Caloca mentioned that due to lengthy legal processes oftentimes the only thing that can be done is for the crimes to be continually reported. She urged residents to be watchful and report any crimes they see being committed. 

“It’s a battle we fight every day,” Caloca said. “We have to continue within whatever guidelines [are given us].”

Another issue with these types of encampments is that the encampment residents know how to work around enforcement. 

“There are some times [residents of floating encampments] know what they can and cannot do, and they are very well versed,” Caloca said. 

Caloca mentioned another issue – vacant properties. 

“The issue we are having is that people are moving in and starting to squat and establish residency,” Caloca said.

Once a squatter establishes residency, it is then up to the owner to evict them. The eviction process can take anywhere from six to nine months. 

“These individuals know what they need to do right away,” Caloca said. “They establish getting mail, they get their driver’s license and they start getting bills.” 

Caloca urged residents to stay vigilant. She recommended that when traveling, residents should have someone look in on their homes. 

Meanwhile, residents of Shadow Hills are facing a problem of their own. According to residents, every weekend large parties have been taking place lasting until morning. Residents cited there have been incidents of disturbing the peace, illegal parking and drunk driving. 

Godoy mentioned that unless LAPD starts getting multiple reports on the disturbance there isn’t much that can be done. 

“If it is a community issue, I should have a community response,” Godoy said. 

In the meantime, Shadow Hills residents can continue to submit reports to law enforcement, parking enforcement and to the Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control. 

  Area Representative Ricardo Flores also urged residents to use the MyLA311 app. 

“Keep using that 3-1-1 app and report homeless encampments, street lights out, illegal dumping – anything like that,” Flores said. 

The meeting concluded with Caloca and Godoy reminding residents to keep making reports; residents thanked the officers.