Tip-A-Cop for Special Olympics

Save the date! APD will participate in our annual Tip-A-Cop for Special Olympics, hosted at Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill at the Westfield Santa Anita Mall on Wednesday, August 26th, from 5:30-9PM. For additional information, contact Sgt. Brian Ortiz at (626) 574-5174.

Near Drowning

For the second time in the last few weeks, a child was pulled from a residential pool in Arcadia not breathing. Yesterday at about 5:30PM, Officers, along with AFD, responded to the 1400 block of Oaklawn in North Arcadia on report of a possible drowning. A 5 year old boy was found under water by his mother while swimming with several children. The child was administered CPR by paramedics and transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

2 Arrested for Auto Burglary

Sunday afternoon at about 4:45PM, Officers were called to the Westfield Santa Anita Shoppingtown on report of a suspicious vehicle and subjects, possibly involved in an auto burglary. An Officer found the vehicle fleeing the area at a high rate of speed and was able to stop the vehicle. Two 19 year old males from Los Angeles were detained and during the investigation, a stolen GPS device was seen on their vehicle floorboard. It was learned that the pair broke into a car parked at the mall, stole the GPS and then fled when observed by witnesses. Thanks to the quick call from the witnesses and mall security, the two suspects were arrested.

Shotgun in Vehicle Leads to Arrests

Early Saturday morning at about 2:15AM, two men were contacted during a traffic stop near Huntington and Second. During the contact, Officers observed a shotgun in the rear of the vehicle. The investigation found ammunition for the weapon also in the driver's compartment. The pair had been in the area visiting at a party. Arrested on the weapons charge were a 20 year old and an 18 year old, both from Long Beach.

3 More Hondas Taken Last Friday Night

Three (3) Honda cars, one Accord and two Civics were taken on Friday evening from the Westfield Santa Anita Shoppingtown parking lot between about 6:00PM and 10:45PM. The Hondas ranged in year from 1992-1998. Similar vehicle thefts occurred about two weeks ago on a Saturday evening at the mall. APD is working with the mall regarding the thefts. There is no suspect information.

Tuesday Tip - Help Prevent Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is one of those topics that is not often addressed. Our population is growing older and the frequency with which we encounter various cases of elder abuse is growing in LA County. Recently, APD has been investigating two cases of elderly fiduciary abuse occurring in town. Elder abuse can come in many forms such as physical abuse, mental abuse, neglect or abandonment, and financial abuse. Elder abuse most often occurs where the senior lives. The abuse can take place at home, at a relatives home or perhaps in nursing home care. The abuser can be an adult family member, a friend, a caretaker, or a predator seeking out an elderly target. Elder abuse is not easily detected so it is up to all of us to be aware of warning signs;



Physical or Emotional Abuse

• Unexplained bruises or injury


• Broken bones


• Controlled or restricted access to visits, friends or family


• Threatening or belittling behavior on the part of a caregiver


• Behavior by the elder mimicking dementia or childlike actions

Neglect or Self-Neglect

• Unusual or untreated sores or wounds


• Malnutrition, weight loss or dehydration


• Unsanitary living conditions


• Being left dirty or unbathed

Financial Abuse

• Unusual or unexplained withdrawals from bank accounts


• Items or cash missing from the home


• Suspicious changes in wills, powers of attorney, titles/deeds etc.


• Unpaid bills or additions of persons to accounts


• Mail is missing or changes of address

These are just some of the indicators of possible elder abuse. Pay close attention to your older family members, neighbors and friends. Adult Protective Service (APS) is an LA County group that responds to reports of suspected elder abuse. APS can be reached at (877) 4 R SENIORS. A social worker will respond accordingly along with Law Enforcement resources if needed. Another resource for information on elder abuse can be found at HelpGuide.com.

Don't Panic - Police Use Social Media Too!

The title pretty much says it all. The use of social media by Law Enforcement is growing; be it by individual Officers or by Departments. There are a multitude of reasons why the use of the Internet and social media has caught the eye of police. The most obvious is for investigative purposes. Solving crimes and tracking down people is much easier with the use of the Internet. Just like anyone can search for names, phone numbers, locations and information using various search engines, so do we. There are also services that provide much more detailed information that conduct more intense searches for a fee. This type of information is not unique to Law Enforcement, but is available to just about anyone who is willing to pay for it.

Law Enforcement has also gotten better at sharing information between agencies which allows for greatly improved capability to identify suspects and link criminal information. Secure Internet has provided that ability to us. The Internet has also allowed us to use sites to look for criminal activity. Sites like Craiglist and Ebay allow us the opportunity to proactively go after persons who participate in criminal behavior. Other sites where sexual predators seek victims or trade information are monitored and participated in so that we can further investigations as well.

The most important thing to remember is that just like you, the information that we access on a daily basis is public and readily available by anyone when it comes to normal use of the Internet. Unless we are conducting an investigation that is criminal in nature and we obtain search warrants or court orders, private information us exactly that - private.

A growing aspect to the use of the Internet by Law Enforcement is the use of social media. Social media is a great opportunity for police to interact with the community, share information, keep the community informed and vice versa. CNN ran a recent article on the topic, taking a look at Lakeland Police Department in Florida. A similar post on DygiScape by Joe Manna offers some links to other Law Enforcement uses of Twitter. Both articles discuss the use of social media by police. Cops2point0.com is a website hosted by Christa Miller and Scott White that is dedicated to examining and discussing better uses of social media by Law Enforcement. A few other local agencies use blogs or Twitter to reach out to their community. Take a look at Whitter PD, LAPD, and LASD Santa Clarita Station.

In addition to agency websites, there may be police associations, like APOA & Torrance POA, or individual police officers that host their own blogs, Twitter, Facebook or other social media related sites. Take a look at PoliceOne.com for a list of just some police related blogs. It is interesting to read the assorted posts and opinions.

Bottom line, don't panic...police use social media too!