The No. 1 Place for Thefts From Cars in the West Valley

The park at Lake Balboa is a popular place for residents of Sherman Oaks to jog, walk, or just hang out and enjoy the solitude. The 80-acre recreation facility attracts people from all over the San Fernando Valley who enjoy the scenic beauty, but there are problems there. 

 "It's become a hot spot for car break-ins," says LAPD Officer Julio Sandoval, who was patrolling the park in his squad car. "More cars are broken into and things stolen at this park than any other place in the West Valley," he added.

Many people come to the park to jog because it has a hard surface that appeals to runners who are preparing for marathons.

"The other day, three women who are marathon runners came to the park to train, but they left their purses in the back seat of the car, and when they came back they discovered the car had been broken into and all three of the purses were gone," Sandoval said.

"We haven't actually caught anybody breaking into a car," said Officer Hugo Fuentes, who was in the patrol car with Sandoval, "but we've started patrolling the park more this week and we're hoping that if we establish a presence here, that will cut down on the crime."

The park, which is adjacent to three major neighborhoods, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys and Encino, also offers fishing, boating, remote-control boating and a place for family picnics.

Virtually everyone who visits the recreation area comes by car, and the parked cars become targets.

"The people who are breaking into the cars know that there are a lot of opportunities here because the people who have parked their cars are  usually off running somewhere, so it's easy pickings," Sandoval said.

The most common crime in communities such as Sherman Oaks is theft from vehicles. Earlier this week, Sandoval was investigating a theft case in which someone smashed the window of a Mercedes with a rock and grabbed a case that looked like a laptop computer.

"But it was just a briefcase full of papers that belonged to a teacher. They're looking to steal laptops that are left inside cars," he said.

"People need to lock their cars when they go running in the park, but it's always a bad idea to leave things sitting in your car that can be seen by someone walking by," Sandoval said.

"We don't think it's just one person doing all the break-ins," Fuentes said, sitting in his car watching the area. "It's probably different people doing these things," he added.