The LAPD said this week it was closing its "Follow Home Robbery Task Force" after 15 months, citing a dramatic drop in the number of follow-home robberies after its detectives made dozens of arrests.
The unit, that was run out of the Department's Robbery Homicide Division, or RHD, was deactivated March 11 and more than 18 investigators returned to their regular assignments.
FOLLOW HOME ROBBERIES
At the peak of the not-yet-fully explained follow-home trend in the Fall of 2021 the LAPD said it recorded 39 such holdups in one month. Investigators say while some groups of thieves committed numerous, similar crimes, there wasn't proof of a large, organized scheme to carry out the holdups.
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"There doesn't appear to be any, any criminal mastermind that's at play here," LAPD Capt. Kirk Kelley said last October.
"It just seems to be individuals that see, in 15 minutes, they can follow someone home when they've seen them with a fancy watch, like a Rolex, or a very expensive handbag, and getting into a high end luxury vehicle," he said.
The Department has recorded two or fewer follow-home cases in each of the last three months.
Of the roughly 125 arrests tied to follow-home cases since December 2021, prosecutors have filed dozens of serious and violent felony cases, including charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and robbery, the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division said.
A handful of the most notable cases remain unsolved, including an Oct. 27, 2022 "hot prowl" robbery at the Encino Hills home of Dorit Kemsley, who was featured in "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" television reality series. No arrests had been made in that case as of this week.
