Vin Etching/Marking and Community Recruitment – NA23095rc

WHAT:
VIN Etching and Recruitment Event

WHEN:
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Lilac Terrace and Stadium Way
Lot 13, (next door to LA Fire Academy)
Los Angeles, CA 90065

WHO:
LAPD Northeast Division Command Staff
LAPD Northeast Division Auto Detectives
Auto Club Association of America (AAA)
National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)
Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA)
Friends of Elysian Park

WHY:
LAPD Northeast is continuing its monthly VIN Etching and Marking events. The August event is sponsored by Friends of Elysian Park, a community-based organization focused on protecting and enhancing Elysian Park’s incredible beauty for current and future generations. This group of passionate volunteers can be seen tending to native plants, caring for the hiking trails in the area and discussing park related issues.

This VIN Etching Event will feature the newly acquired Insta-Etch Mark 3 etching device that was obtained with Grant Funds. This marking device represents the state of the art for etching VIN numbers as it is hand-held, portable and Bluetooth enabled.

In addition, LAPD will highlight the use of “Marked by LAPD” templates that are intended to act as a high visibility deterrent to prevent catalytic converter theft. Detectives use high temperature spray paint to mark catalytic converters. Marking catalytic converters will assist investigators to identify stolen catalytic converters if found in the possession of cat thieves or at a metal recycling center.

A static display will also be on hand for Anti-Theft devices, to include Cat Shields and Cat cable cages, the most common tools used by catalytic converter thieves, and effective car alarms to combat catalytic converter theft. Representatives from AAA as well as the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) will also be on-hand to discuss insurance and catalytic converter claims and the effect of these losses that are passed on to all other policyholders.

Northeast Area is also rolling out its new Recruitment Campaign in partnership with LAPD’s Recruitment Division. Northeast personnel will also be using this event to reach out to all attendees that LAPD is hiring. Community members will be given recruitment material, whether for themselves, their friends, family members or neighbors. Northeast Area not only will address community concerns and discuss crime, but to also leverage those community contacts into potential recruiting efforts at the local level, neighborhood by neighborhood, and community by community.

Interested residents and business owners can call (323) 561-3259 to book an appointment, which are going fast. Ask for Officer Jonathan Lai regarding available times.

Detective Ventura will be on hand to answer questions regarding Catalytic Converter thefts and best strategies to protect car owners from being victimized.

CONTACT:
For questions, contact Detective Michael Ventura at (323) 561-3257 or 30741@lapd.online for media inquiries.