The following is the monthly update for March 2002. I hope you find the information useful. I encourage you to continue to visit our Web site at www.LAPDOnline.org as it has grown to over 10,000 pages since its inception in 1998. OPERATIONS – VALLEY BUREAU TOWN HALL MEETING This Town Hall Meeting will bring people from the Devonshire, Foothill, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, and West Valleys Areas together with local government to discuss community concerns. I will be in attendance along with the Commanding Officers from Valley Bureau Community Police Stations, and other police and City officials. This is the forum for community input and a vital component of the community/police partnership. The Town Hall Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 28, 2002 at 6:00 p.m. at Reseda High School Auditorium, 18300 Kittridge Street, Reseda. Please join us. LAPD CENTURIONS FOOTBALL The LAPD Centurions Football team, formed in 1978, is made up entirely of Los Angeles police officers who play and practice on their own time to be part of the team. In 2001, the team won the Nation Public Safety Football League Championship defeating the Gunners from the Houston, Texas Police Department. The LAPD Centurions play football for kids, as all proceeds from the season go to support the Blind Children’s Center of Los Angeles. We invite you to come out and support our football team and the Blind Children’s Center at our next game as we play against the Dallas/Ft. Worth Panthers, Saturday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m. at Serra High School, 14830 S. Van Ness Avenue in Gardena. LAPD ARCHIVES PHOTO GALLERY SHOW The Department is continuing to coordinate the touring photo gallery show titled “LAPD - 100 Years of Photography” featuring law enforcement and crime scene photographs from LAPD photo archives. The gallery show will travel to all Community Police Stations and various City landmarks. The Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union is sponsoring this traveling exhibit. The public is invited to attend the show to view these historic photographs. The March show schedule continues at West Traffic Division at Operations- West Bureau through March 3 and moves to Hollenbeck Community Police Station on March 4. The show moves to Central Community Police Station on March 11, to Newton Community Police Station beginning March 18, and to Southwest Community Police Station beginning on March 25. Additional dates and locations will be published in April 2002. MARCH SAFETY TIPS – REAL ESTATE FRAUD Real estate schemes, scams, and fraud all constitute a form of theft which criminals use to steal your home or real property. Adhering to the principle that a person’s home is their castle, this is possibly the most devastating form of victimization. Real estate fraud can take many forms. Con artists may use several methods to swindle you in a real estate fraud scheme. Here are a few forms in which real estate fraud may be performed. * Foreclosure Bailout - Victims of this type of real estate fraud are generally homeowners who have negative equity, also known as being “upside- down” and/or owe more money on their home’s mortgage than the home is worth. * Home Equity and Home Renovation Fraud - Victims are frequently asked to sign blank contracts or contracts that they were not allowed to read before signing. Later, the homeowner discovers that they signed a contract that contains terms in contrast to the originally promised terms. This results in the loss of equity in the victim’s home, and also they have signed a mortgage in which they have incurred considerably higher interest rates. * Rental Fraud - Con artists will rent out a home they do not own. They will locate a vacant or abandoned home, enter, change the locks, and then advertise the property for rent. The victim rents the property from the con artist, who collects a security deposit and rent from the victim, and then disappears. The victim, who rented the property, is then evicted by the lawful owner and subsequently loses their place to live along with the money they paid for the security deposit and rent. Some swindlers deliberately seek out families that may have limited means or are experiencing financial difficulties, figuring such persons may be particularly receptive to a proposal that offers fast and large profits. Your first step as a victim should be to report the incident to your local police department. For additional information or to obtain a copy of crime prevention circulars, contact the Community Liaison/Crime Prevention Unit, at (213) 485-3134, or visit our Web site at www.lapdonline.org, and open the “Crime Prevention Tips” icon. BERNARD C. PARKS Chief of Police