From The Hollywood Reporter:
Security agencies say wealthy clients are increasing protective measures: "They want someone who knows how to get them out of any situation."
Private security contractors report that a recent string of high-profile retail robberies and home burglaries in upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods has caused a dramatic uptick in requests for their services and prompted many of their wealthy clients to change their routines out of a mix of caution and fear.
Recent high-profile crimes involving the entertainment community include the Oct. 27 robbery of the Encino home of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley, resulting in the theft of $1 million in luxury handbags, jewelry, watches and other goods. Actor and former BET host Terrence Jenkins escaped a robbery attempt by a masked crew near his Sherman Oaks home on Nov. 10. Then Hollywood was shaken by the fatal shooting of 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant (wife of legendary music exec Clarence Avant and mother-in-law to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos) during an attempted burglary at her Trousdale Estates home on Dec. 1; the perpetrator, recently paroled from state prison, was charged with her murder on Dec. 6.
High-profile heists have also occurred in the Fairfax district, where suspects in police-like uniforms followed victims from a restaurant, and in Hancock Park, where two men robbed a mother with her baby. Armed robbers crashed a holiday party in Pacific Palisades on Dec. 3 to strip revelers of jewelry, iPhones and an Apple watch. On Dec. 7, thieves heisted about $100,000 worth of jewelry and goods from guests held at gunpoint outside the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. And on the evening of Dec. 20, a man was arrested for attempting to burglarize a Bel Air mansion.
According to the LAPD, nonviolent property crimes, including burglary and car theft are up slightly (3.7 percent) from last year, and down 5.8 percent from 2019. However, violent crime — a category that includes homicide, robbery and aggravated assault — is up 6.2 percent so far this year and up 4.4 percent compared to 2019. Robbery itself is up 5.2 percent from this time last year, though down 12.7 percent compared to 2019. Homicide is up 13 percent since last year and a dramatic 52.2 percent compared to 2019. In Beverly Hills, total violent crimes are up 25 percent over the past 12 months, according to the city’s police department.
According to agencies who provide private security — as well as others who work with Hollywood’s A-List (including an estate manager, a business manager and a top Beverly Hills real estate agent) — clients are seeing the headlines and taking increased precautions.
“Almost immediately after the Avant shooting, it’s been crazy busy. We have increased operations in that [Trousdale Estates] area tremendously,” says Aaron Jones, president and CEO of Malibu-based International Protective Security, which caters to upscale neighborhoods throughout greater L.A. “I have a lot of regular VIPs; when people call, I get on the phone with them. We understand the urgency of what’s going on. It’s nonstop. People are looking for individual plans and co-op plans, where we provide security to a group of houses in a neighborhood. Business has quadrupled.”
With a majority of clients in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, ACS Security has seen an uptick of “about 50 percent” in calls and special patrol services in the past few weeks, says field marketing manager, Elizabeth Chyr. Many clients of SSA Security Group (which services the Palisades, Holmby Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Westwood) are “asking for extra patrol,” says executive senior vice president Terry Segraves, adding that the rate of new client intake is up significantly — “we already have 12 new clients in December.”
Coldwell Banker real estate agent Joyce Rey tells THR that she has joined with neighbors in her Beverly Hills Post Office neighborhood to hire private patrols. “They drive by my house every few minutes, so I feel quite safe,” she says. “I’ve already received a call from a client stating an interest in gated communities, and I definitely see a trend moving back toward the security of condominium life, which frankly languished during COVID because people have looked for more space and outdoor space.”
Since late August, Rising S Company has completed risk assessments for multiple high-end clients in L.A. and installed 13 safe rooms, nine safe doors, two underground bunker shelters, and two window fortifications in Brentwood Park, Beverly Park and Paradise Cove, says general manager Gary Lynch. This compares to their installation of seven safe rooms in California in the 2.5 years prior.....
....MUCH MORE
In the late 1990's murder, carjackings and murderous carjackings got so bad in Johannesburg, South Africa that entrepreneurs began offering both passive defenses such as bulletproof glass you could shoot through from one side and more aggressive deterrents like flamethrowers:
From what I understand, both of these automotive aftermarket add-ons surprised those with evil intent.
