Businesses start crime watch in Santa Clarita: uptick in incidents seen.

Larry Mankin, president and CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, knows his area doesn't exactly conjure images of lawlessness.

After all, Santa Clarita has historically been one of the safest areas of the county. Still, Mankin is troubled by a recent swell in property crimes in the area.

It s a major concern," he said. "You know, crime can happen in any type of environment."

With that in mind, the chamber has teamed up with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Santa Clarita station and the city to create a business watch program to help local business owners learn how to curb crime trends.

The meetings, expected to bring in about 50 people, will be similar to Neighborhood Watch programs and focus on current crime trends and information about building security and theft prevention, said Gail Ortiz, a spokeswoman for the city.

"We'll let them know how law enforcement works," she said. "We think it will be a very good use of their time."

Business leaders will meet to create emergency procedures and learn how to spot and prevent counterfeits and identity thefts.

"There's a whole litany of things business can do," she said. "One of the things we can do it is to teach people to be vigilant."

The first meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Santa Clarita Sports Complex, 20850 Centre Pointe Parkway, at 7:30 a.m. Another meeting is Oct. 25 at the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce offices.

A watchful eye

While new to Santa Clarita, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, City of Palmdale and Mid-Valley and Sunland-Tujunga chambers of commerce have long offered similar seminars.

A handful of similar programs have also popped up in the Valley in response to the wave of restaurant robberies in the area over the past two years.

But while the San Fernando Valley has seen an uptick in the number of armed robberies and shootings this year, violent crime has historically been on a downswing in Santa Clarita. It decreased 7.2 percent in 2005 alone, and Santa Clarita was ranked fourth safest city of more than 150,000 in the nation, according to the city.

Lately, however, the city has seen an increase in property crime such as break-ins and graffiti, Ortiz said.

Especially hard-hit are Santa Clarita's office and industrial parks, where vandalism is also on the rise.

The crimes have drawn the attention of city officials, who have turned bullish about making sure Santa Clarita keeps its safe image.

This summer, the City Council increased the city's public safety budget by more than $900,000.

Some of that money went to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the main law enforcement agency in the Santa Clarita Valley that the city contracts to for about $14 million a year.

The idea for the workshops started a few months ago when concerned citizens and business owners started calling officials.

"The sheriff's department has been getting calls expressing interest in law enforcement," Ortiz said, as many as three times a week.

The first few meetings are intended to gauge what steps business owners want to take. They could have additional meetings, boost patrols of certain areas or take other precautions, Ortiz said.

"We'll create a program based on the needs of the business," she said. "We think a community is as strong as its local businesses."

Mankin agrees, adding that it's important to realize that white collar crimes such as identity theft are a major disruption for businesses.

"Not all crime is somebody breaking a door down," he said.

BY CHRIS COATES 

Staff Reporter