Police in cruisers, on horseback and in the air to combat surge of Valley home burglaries

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More visible police patrols, mounted police and air support over the San Fernando Valley are being deployed after a rash of home burglaries in the area, with nine break-ins in a 10-day period.“We all have zero, zero tolerance for what is happening and what’s been happening in the Valley,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during a news conference Monday afternoon.

“Today, we are once again surging resources and acting strategically to stop these latest burglaries and apprehend the perpetrators.”Bass on Friday directed police to increase patrols along Ventura Boulevard.After her announcement, there were two more break-ins in the area.On Monday, the mayor appeared alongside Police Chief Jim McDonnell, offering new details on increased patrols.Bass and McDonnell said they hoped the increased police presence would curb burglaries and result in arrests, but they also stressed that burglaries in the area were down for the year overall.

Burglaries in the Valley Bureau for the year were down 48% when compared with last year, McDonnell said.“I understand that when you’re the victim of a burglary, all that matters is that your police department is doing all it takes to keep you safe,” McDonnell said.

In addition to the high-visibility patrols and air support, the Los Angeles Police Department will be adding specialized units and detectives, the chief said.McDonnell said many of those resources would come from the department’s metro division.He added it was unclear how long the additional resources would remain in the area, saying they could be reshuffled if they were needed in downtown L.A.

or moved to another assignment as necessary.“To be able to tell you now how long of a period it would be — two weeks, four weeks — I can’t because it would depend,” McDonnell said.“If we get pulled away for other crime problems, violent crime in particular, that’s ...