Merchants, Residents to Receive Warnings : Toluca Chamber to Form Crime-Alert Network

Alarmed by what they perceive as a growing fear of crime in their community, businesses in the affluent Toluca Lake area will establish a private information network designed to warn merchants and residents when a local crime occurs.

The effort, believed to be the first of its kind in the San Fernando Valley, differs from standard Neighborhood Watch programs in that the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, not law-enforcement agencies, will be the clearinghouse for crime information.

“People are afraid of holdups,” Jerry Johnson, executive vice president of the chamber, said. “Crime is a community problem, not an individual problem. The entire idea of this is for it to serve as a deterrent.”

Chamber officials, who announced the program at a meeting last week, said it was prompted by several recent robberies and complaints by waitresses at local restaurants that they work in constant fear of crime. Although statistics show crime has not been increasing in the Toluca Lake area, officials said publicized robberies and murders, such as the killing a few weeks ago of a bartender at a bar on Lankershim Boulevard, underscore the vulnerability of the public.

Jurisdictional Problems

Business leaders believe the Chamber of Commerce offers the quickest means to warn merchants and nearby residents when an emergency occurs because of the complicated jurisdictional problems in Toluca Lake. Parts of the community are in Burbank, North Hollywood and the county-governed area of Universal City--meaning Toluca Lake is policed by three law-enforcement agencies.

Chamber officials said the program, called the Toluca Lake Commercial Alert System, does not reflect dissatisfaction with traditional police protection, but rather the realization by local businesses and residents that they need to assist the police if crime prevention is to be effective.

Under the system, members will call a 24-hour chamber hot line when a crime occurs or when merchants spot “suspicious” customers. The hot line call will prompt a chain of telephone calls throughout Toluca Lake, with most of the 225 Chamber members being alerted about the emergency within minutes, Johnson said.

Does Not Replace Police

“This is not intended to be a police action,” explained Robert M. Heaney, chamber president. “You will still call the police when something happens. This is the second call that you would make.”

Johnson said he expects many of the non-merchant members of the chamber, who constitute about 40% of the membership, to join the information network.

“This is a very close community,” he said. “The residential community backs right up against the businesses. It has been a tradition in Toluca Lake that we all work together.”

Representatives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Burbank and Los Angeles police departments praised the program as an effective way for residents to protect their businesses.

Los Angeles Police Detective Ron LaRue, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday, said crime has been dropping in the North Hollywood area, but warned, “We are not safe.” He emphasized the need for citizens’ involvement in crime-prevention programs, such as the new Toluca Lake effort.

“Crime in the North Hollywood area has been rather severe,” he said. “We seek this kind of assistance.”

Burbank police Sgt. Larry Koch told the same group that programs such as the commercial-alert system have proven effective. “It will reduce your chances of being victimized,” he said. “The people in this room are the best police department in Toluca Lake.”

Chamber officials unveiled a prototype Toluca Lake Commercial Alert System poster with the hot-line number, 818-761-6594, at the meeting. He said the poster will be distributed to merchants in several weeks.

Johnson said the alert system, which is being financed with chamber funds, also will allow merchants to share information about bad checks, shoplifters and credit-card fraud.