Big Bad Westwood?

Monday, 6/23/97 Big Bad Westwood? According to movie logic, Los
Angeles is the city of freeway shootings, bank holdups, riots,
drive-bys, mobsters and a lot of blood. But despite the hype,
violent crimes in UCLA’s neighborhood are rare, and petty crime has
fallen.

By Frances Lee and Hector Ronquillo Daily Bruin Senior Staff In
the movies, Los Angeles has a bad reputation – every child carries
an assault rifle and reckless car chases are commonplace tourist
attractions. But people who live in Los Angeles know that such
Hollywood productions are often twisted portrayals of reality. In
fact, visitors to UCLA and its outlying city of Westwood can
breathe a little easier and relax. According to statistics and
police, there just isn’t that much crime in Westwood Village. As
the tourism season reaches its peak, questions may arise about the
safety of "big, bad L.A." But more importantly for the UCLA
community, the question is – how safe is the university that calls
Los Angeles "home?" The answer, according to police, is a
resounding "very." Relatively speaking, Westwood is far safer than
most areas of Los Angeles. "I have the facts and the statistics on
crimes (in Westwood and Los Angeles)," said Officer Ricardo Bolanos
of the university police (UCPD). "Comparatively, (the figures) are
very, very low for Westwood." Certainly, this city has seen its
share of violence, but the "perceived" Los Angeles is far different
from the "real" Los Angeles. While Hollywood – for the sake of
making movies – may continue to perpetuate the city’s bad
reputation, crime in Los Angeles has actually been on the decline.
Nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, crime fell
12.4 percent in 1995. Westwood and UCLA may even be considered
"doubly protected," since there is an overlapping jurisdiction
which makes possible the presence of both the UCPD and the Los
Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The UCPD largely holds itself to
campus, and the West Los Angeles division of the LAPD patrol the
streets of Westwood. Add to that the Westwood Village Community
Service Center – a subdivision of the UCPD in the heart of the
village – and "the presence of police in the area has a lot to do
with deterring crime," Bolanos said. In comparison to the rest of
the L.A. area, Westwood’s crime statistics are just a proverbial
"drop in the bucket." The number of violent crimes in Westwood has
decreased – from 60 in 1991 to 35 in 1995. During the same years,
the number of burglaries also dropped 16 percent. Crime figures for
1996-97, although not yet compiled, promise to show a decrease in
crime as well. Considering its proximity to affluent neighborhoods
such as Beverly Hills and Brentwood (where private security patrol
cars are common), Westwood would hardly be considered a
crime-ridden area. But as is the case in any large, metropolitan
city, it is when people take their safety for granted that they
become victims of crime. "We are certainly safer than Hollywood,"
said UCPD Officer Eugene Allen. "But we still see criminal
activity." One of the biggest problems that Westwood and UCLA faces
is the number of car thefts that occur each year. There is a high
burglary rate of cars from the nearly 30,000 parking spaces
available at UCLA, according to Scott Schafer, field operations
coordinator for Campus Security Officers (CSOs). There were 131
cars stolen from UCLA in 1995, and an equal number the year before.
To combat this ongoing amount of theft, campus security also
provides three specially-trained bike units to patrol the parking
structures throughout the day. "CSOs are like our eyes and ears,"
Allen said. "They report criminal activity on campus and in
(Westwood) Village." Overall, however, visitors to this fair city
need not fear for their lives. Westwood resident Gina Robins put it
bluntly: "I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area my entire life. It’s
not perfect, but I can still walk around at night by myself and
feel safe. There’s no sense in being paranoid about it." Such
advice may be useful to the summer crowd. Over the summer, UCLA
sees an influx of foreign students and tourists who come to stay at
and visit the university. There are also many high school students
who take college preparatory courses, as well as a number of
cheerleading and sports camps that take advantage of the campus
facilities. Wide-eyed out-of-towners may come here, having been
inundated with Hollywood images of gun-toting criminals at every
corner. It would be misleading to tell visitors that Westwood is
perfectly safe. But it would be even more misleading to perpetuate
such an L.A. myth. Violent crimes are relatively rare here, and
they have been steadily declining in the last five years. The
shooting death of Kevin Jeske last fall at UCLA’s Central Ticket
Office in a holdup attempt was the first homicide on campus in six
years. After the death of Jeske, the policies governing campus
security were examined to make sure the services provided for
students indeed helped ensure their safety. Such services include
escorting students at night from campus to their room (escorts can
be reached by calling 794-WALK). There are also CSOs in designated
buildings and in the libraries who are trained to respond to public
and individual disturbances. During the regular school year, CSOs
also provide an evening van service which transports students from
campus to their dormitory or apartment, although the service is not
provided during the summer. And the ‘blue phones’ around campus,
located in parking lots and in walkways around the campus, help
provide an emergency safeguard. Whether or not people feel safe in
Westwood "has a lot to do with perception," Bolanos said. Things
have changed within the last 10 years, he added. The police
presence in the area has grown, and the university police have
gotten more involved in UCLA’s surrounding community. With such
special attention given to the safety of Westwood residents and
visitors, there seems to be little reason for concern. "The only
dangerous thing about Westwood, the only thing you’ve got to watch
out for," noted Los Angeles resident Michael Foster, "are the
parking meter guys." JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin Detectives search
for clues at the scene of Kevin Jeske’s murder at the Central
Ticket Office last fall, the first murder at UCLA in six years.
CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin A car sits outside Parking Structure 4 with
its contents removed after a chase ended at UCLA. Police tailed
suspects for 20 minutes before arresting them for burglary. PATRICK
LAM/Daily Bruin In a procedure that occurs often in Westwood,
police put an end to a party on Roebling Avenue. Previous Daily
Bruin Stories Property crime reports increase in UCLA area, April
21, 1995 Daytime attacks rouse public anxiety, May 4, 1995