Malibu Crime Declining Despite Recent Spike in Burglaries

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Sheriff's Dept. Vehicle

Summer’s here and a strong wave of crime has hit Malibu.

Crime reports provided by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department have shown at least 13 vehicle burglaries in the last month in Malibu, with victims left picking up pieces of their broken cars.

Four vehicle burglaries were reported on July 1. Two of the burglaries occurred on Pacific Coast Highway while the other two burglaries occurred on Winding Way. In each of the four burglaries, the suspect smashed one of the vehicle’s windows. 

A rise in tourism in the beach town during the summer months could be partly to blame, but Sheriff’s deputies at the Malibu/Lost Hills Station have seen a decline in thefts and burglaries compared to this time a year ago.

“It ebbs and flows but right now we’re actually doing pretty well historically in terms of vehicle burglaries,” Lt. James Royal said.  

“We’ve had some good arrests lately and we’re making headway on this. It’s kind of a constant issue because of the beach crowds and trailheads. During the summer months especially, we see a spike in thefts from vehicles and vehicle burglaries locked or unlocked.”

 Around the same time last year, 65 locked vehicle burglaries were reported to the Sheriff’s department and 52 have been reported so far this year.

 “There is a seasonal spike, based on just the numbers,” Royal said. “The crowds that come in and the thieves actually understand that it’s relatively easy for them because there are so many thousands of people that influx in to the Malibu area.”

 There were 29 reports of grand theft from a vehicle by June 2013 and 17 have been reported in 2014. 

In the Malibu Times Crime Report from June 14 through June 16, two vehicles were burglarized by the beach. The suspect had found keys the victims had hidden, unlocked the vehicles and stole wallets, iPhones and credit cards before locking the vehicles and returning the keys to their original hiding places.

In one of the incidents, the suspect used the victim’s credit cards to purchase over $5,000 worth of goods at two separate Target locations before the card was declined at a third location.

“We had a report by a beachgoer that suspicious persons were near their car,” Royal said. “As they approached their car to check out why the suspects were that close to the car, these people quickly walked away and got in to a car, they realized they had just smashed their window and took their stuff. They gave us a general car description and deputies picked up the car over on the 101 freeway about 15 minutes later.”

By this time last year, 18 reports had been made for grand theft of a vehicle and to date this year there have been 4 reports.

On the weekend of June 13, four vehicles were reported burglarized, with two of the burglaries on Birdview Avenue.

The suspect from one of the Birdview burglaries used a credit card stolen from the vehicle for multiple Metro PCS transactions and was then declined trying to purchase $32 worth of food at Jack in the Box. The other Birdview victim lost a gps system, flashlight, and cash left in the car.

Two vehicles were also burglarized the same day on Corral Canyon Road, near a popular hiking spot in Malibu.

Deputies encourage residents to be aware of their surroundings, trust their instincts and move vehicles away from areas with suspicious people or call the station to report the issue. 

“Leave your valuables that you don’t need at home. If you do bring them or happen to have them, put them in the trunk,” Royal said. “If you’re a surfer or someone else who leaves their key on the tire, we would encourage you not to do that because there are certain types of people who do these crimes who are aware that people do that. They target and sit and wait.”