Weekly Crime Report for July 14th through July 20, 2019 and Comments from Torrance PD on Porch Piracy
This report is for Sunday, July 14th through Saturday, July 20, 2019.
32 items in the Torrance Police Department Weekly Crime Log at
RESIDENTIAL BURGLARIES
There were 2 in Torrance. 1 in North Torrance and 1 in Southwood Riviera.
In the North Torrance burglary, the suspect took a garage remote out of an
unlocked vehicle and used it to gain entry to the garage.
In the Southwood Riviera burglary, a door was pried open for entry, the property
was ransacked and jewelry, safe, gold, coins and documents were stolen.
AUTO BURGLARIES
There were 10 in Torrance and none in Southeast Torrance.
On July 14th at 10:30 AM in the 2600 Block of Skypark Drive, a suspect stole
a purse as the victim was loading groceries in her vehicle.
On the evening of July 18th or by noon on July 19th, a suspect entered three
unlocked vehicles in the 3900 Block of 176th Street. The vehicles were ransacked
and cash, perfume, shoes, purses and clothes were stolen.
THEFT
There were 10 incidents including 1 in Southeast Torrance.
7/16 6PM to 7/18 7:30 AM 2400 Block 237th Street. Catalytic converter stolen from vehicle.
On Friday, July 19th at 4:30 PM, delivered parcels were taken off a porch in the 19900 Block of
Hawthorne Blvd.
Three reports of items being stolen from gym lockers in the 21500 Block of Hawthorne Blvd and
2600 Block of Pacific Coast Highway during the reporting period.
John Bailey, President
Southeast Torrance Homeowners’ Association, Inc. (SETHA)
Presentation by Torrance Police Detective Josh Burden at a recent Torrance Commission on Aging meeting.
Porch Piracy
Porch pirates and mail fraud; Josh Burden, Detective Torrance Police Department.
Detective Burden stated that he worked financial crimes for the Department. He explained that the problem of porch pirates was not confined to any one area, City or criminal group and noted that the thieves were developing more sophisticated ways to identify the value of the packages. He stated that it was often difficult for the Department to follow up on the crimes or locate the criminals, unless a witness was able to obtain a license plate number, as the thieves were skilled at avoiding cameras. He explained that the Department did not work directly with apps like Nextdoor or Ring doorbell, but often were able to obtain video footage directly from residents. He added that images obtained from Ring doorbells was not clear enough to identify vehicles or for use with facial recognition software. Detective Burden stated that he had personally only arrested one porch pirate, who had had stolen packages visible in his car. He listed the following as possible solutions: Include specific delivery placement information on orders to have carrier place package in area that was not in plain view Use other addresses, such as office locations for delivery or Amazon lockers, located at 7-11 stores, or Fed-Ex offices.
Senior Citizen Scams
Detective Burden discussed scams that have affected senior citizens and noted that these were topics that were discussed in the “Seniors, Don’t Be Scammed” seminars. He listed some ways to avoid mail and credit fraud: Do not deposit mail in any of the blue Postal boxes on street corners or in front of the Post Office. Deposit all mail inside the post office. Have a locked mail box at home or delivery directly into a mail slot into the house. Use only credit cards, instead of debit cards to insure coverage in the case of fraud Secure the wi-fi network on your home computer Create credit freezes on yours and your children’s accounts Only donate to Police and Fire Departments through their approved non-profit partners or at Department sponsored events, not on the phone, through email or solicitors on the street He stated that one in four persons have been victims of identity theft He explained that hotels did not add credit card information to their key cards, but thieves did use blank cards with magnetic strips to recode and create fraudulent credit cards.
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