counterfeit-goods crackdown a start, but much work remains to improve quality of life
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The recent seizure of $2.7 million worth of counterfeit goods from Santee Alley is a win for local designers and global entrepreneurs alike, who have had to suffer through their brands and trademarked names being sold for pennies on the dollar.
More than 45 officers participated in the Christmas Eve raid, according to the LA Times, arresting 28 persons for selling or manufacturing the goods.
Increased enforcement in recent years has begun to send a message to counterfeiters that their corrupt trade is not welcome in our neighborhood. Still, the high-profile busts generally occur only once per year, and as anyone who’s shopped in the Fashion District can tell you, it’s a year-round fire sale for cheap knock-offs.
Stirring the Pot
But as Downtown continues to attract professionals, retirees, and small families, these types of quality-of-life issues need to be more open and easier to bring to the attention of the proper authorities.
For example, right across the street from my loft at 6th and Los Angeles, men loiter throughout the day buying and selling stolen goods in plain view of LAPD’s Central Division, opening backpacks and suitcases to show their wares. On many days I am approached and asked for how much I’m willing to part with my “stolen” laptop, camera or iPod.
In this bustling section of Downtown, where thousands descend daily to shop for legitimate deals, allowing stolen goods to be bought and sold in such a cavalier manner only fuels the demand for stolen property. Anyone who’s been robbed or had their homes ransacked can attest to the insecurity and violation that takes years to make sound again.
There are multiple levels of negligence in allowing this to happen right under our noses. The owners of the former Greyhound Terminal — now a filthy, blighted parking and retail structure — need to work with local authorities to place and monitor cameras at strategic locations.
It doesn’t stop with property owners, however. Proprietors of the small shops that line 6th and Los Angeles streets have become complacent in keeping the sidewalks in front of their establishments free of crime and garbage, at least during operating hours.
Even local pols and law enforcement have no reason to act until stakeholders make their voices heard. Several calls to the office of Councilwoman Jan Perry were not returned, and calls to LAPD’s tip line merited the audible equivalent of a shrug.
After enduring a robbery attempt recently on Main Street, I decided that I care too much about this community to not speak out and get the change I demand. If it takes making some noise to get anything done around here, so be it. We need real reform in how the city responds to citizens’ quality-of-life complaints, and we need it now.
Have any ideas on ways to improve the quality of life in Downtown? Let us know!
57 comments
There are people who openly peddle pirated DVDs on Broadway as well…
The downtown LA Macy’s should probably get rid of the Graffiti INSIDE the display. That was pretty amazing. It’s been there for almost a week, I haven’t checked today, but Graffiti inside a Macy’s is pretty different.
A linkt to when I first spotted it
http://xrl.us/beassm
A link to it still being there
http://xrl.us/beassd
Browne
It’s a good thing, too, as a Tom Cruise film is only worth $ 5, no tax, no receipt.
You were robbed!? what time of night was it?
Story Time!
One morning I was sitting up on the top of the Santee Court building (We lived on the 2nd floor at the time) making breakfast on the BBQ. It was Saturday, and while the pancakes were cooking, I looked across the street and saw a van with 40 billion shiny disks inside. I looked with the telescope and saw they were all dvds! This van was packed full, and groups of people with carts would come over to the van, fill their cart, and make their way to the street.
I picked up my cell phone, called down to the central station and gave them the whole story. Within moments, there were three police cars up on the roof of the parking lot. A couple of arrests were made. When I spoke with the officers later they said the van was indeed full, but that likely there would be a new van tomorrow just as full as the one that day.
I felt like I did my part that day, but it wasn’t until then did I realize how big the DVD thing had become!
Vanzant: 3:30 in the morning, the two Saturdays ago. Two friends insisted on walking me back to my apartment… Luckily for me.
Two other bloggers were robbed that same night… though in my case we managed to freak them out before they took anything. It was a scary experience and really reminds one that we need to be alert and travel with friends whenever possible.
Browne Molyneux wrote about it on the Bus Bench: http://www.thebusbench.com/2008/12/gold-line-service-alert-bad-people.html
It’s important to file police reports when you are the victim of crime.
LAPD is driven by the CompStat model of policing. CompStat stands for Compare Statistics. If there are no reports of crime in an area, police are redeployed to areas with reported crime. Thus, statistics become the driver for resource application inside LAPD and how LAPD judges its performance. As a result, keeping statistics going lower is the goal of every geographic division’s captains and every bureau’s commander and deputy chief.
What I think people living and working Downtown need to remember is that reporting incidents to a property manager, building security of BID security is NOT the same as filing a police report with LAPD.
Be certain to get the “DR” for the crime. The “DR” is the Divisional Reporting number and is how LAPD tracks crime reports. DRs are in this format: XX-XX-XXXXX. The first two numbers are the year. The second two are the division’s two digit number. The last five numbers are unique to your crime. Central Division is “01” so 2009 DRs will look like 09-01-XXXXX.
Being a victim of crime sucks. But reporting a crime you may think is unsolvable may actually help police spot a pattern or identify a suspect that can lead to an arrest.
It is important LA learns best practices from NYC on street crime and counterfeiting reductions, though even in NYC, it remains an uphill battle. Bratton is supposed to be all about the ‘broken windows’ theory he deployed successfully and sustainably in NYC. Go public! Read on Google Books for free (and beyond?) Comeback Cities! Hold his/LAPD’s feet to the fire, and check out:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/counterfeiters-expanding-chinatown-8963.html
Hope this helps all concerned. Believing in what you are doing where you are doing it, and ‘knowing something’ about ‘walking the talk’ in urban revitalization…
We had some tangible, measurable, ‘feelable’ results in NYC through and with this; please consider:
http://books.google.com/books?id=o5sbdWh_B8IC
Warm regards and best wishes…
> Pragmatism, not dogma, has
> produced the charter school
> movement and the police’s new
> focus on “quality-of-life” issues.
That’s much harder to achieve when activist groups sue at the drop of the hat, such as self-proclaimed representatives of the homeless bringing lawsuits against the police, other government agencies and property owners.
And it doesn’t help when many voters in the city allow their elected officials and local government employees, including at the police department, far too much leeway and time in resolving major problems. Or a belief that just because someone shares your party affiliation and general political viewpoints, he (or she) therefore deserves a lot of your and the public’s patience and, even if they’re inept or nonsensical, forgiveness.
I have a hunch that there are more people like Rich Ralossi out there than I care to believe, meaning Angelenos who have been victims of crime or attempted crimes, but who for any number of reasons have not bothered to report their experience to the police department.
Some of that may be due to people either being too permissive about illegal activity, or, more likely, seeing their run ins with criminals as merely the price one pays for living in an inner-city location, and being too embarrassed to acknowledge that—-not wanting to admit that Aunt Edna or mom, or dad, or your friend, or colleagues in the office have a point when they say “why not live in an area with less crime, fewer panhandlers, fewer problems in general?!” (I admit that’s how I’d feel about a personal encounter with a criminal and the way that bad news would make my neighborhood look to outsiders)
Some people also may believe that in the short run it’s easier to just tolerate all the problems found in downtown, and then eventually move to another, safer or less dangerous, part of town.
Rich, you should have reported that robbery immediately on this site to warn your fellow downtowners. You have a responsibility to do so. I certainly hope you reported it to the LAPD. The next time they may be more brazen.
downtowndouglas: I was considering it, but didn’t want to create undue paranoia or fear. I’m always warning my readers to be careful, to walk with friends, stay on brightly lit streets…
I did let LAPD know.
Unfortunately, the vehicle had no license plates and was an early-model silver Nissan Sentra or Maxima. They’ve got the incident on file now for their records.
Rich doesn’t have a “responsibility” to his readers. Ease up.
Someone called the police about illegal dvds? Really? Get a life.
looking through a telescope to see what illegal activities those dark-skinned people on the streets below were up to and then reporting their activities to the local police—how very neighborly. indeed, people need to get a life.
I agree with James “Get A Life”.
Over a month ago I was riding the Purple Line and this guy got on pulling this big carry-on behind him. Right away he announced he had the latest Disney movie, “Bolt” on DVD…$5.00. (I don’t think the movie had even been released yet.) Two women each bought two copies - one DVD obviously intended for her son who sat with her. I guess the guy didn’t like the way I watched all this and he got off at the next stop.
I got off too, and reported what I’d seen to a policeman on the platform. He smiled and said there was nothing he could do…that they tried to keep that to a minimum but their primary job was to watch for fare infractions and general safety.
Like with illegal drug trafficking, if there was no market for stolen or pirated goods, there’d be no sale of stolen or pirated goods. Pissed me off, though, that the woman bought one for her kid. There’s a good message to send. I should’ve said something.
DVDs?! are you people serious? there are actual CRIMES happening out there, violent ones, and you are worried about dvds?
times are tough, people are getting desperate. i was at a graduation party a couple weeks ago in the industrial district and when we got back to the car, EVERY car on the street had been broken into. glass everywhere. at least 20 cars. LADIES- dont hide your purse under the seat! they’ll find it anyway!! i highly recommend keeping only the necessities in your pockets when you go out anywhere in downtown these days.
Maybe you guys should get over yourselves about reporting illegal DVD’s to the LAPD.
If Ginny had seen the people stabbing someone, she would have reported that just like she reported the illegal DVD’s.
Robbery, battery, DVD’s…a crime is a crime and should be reported.
Just because the illegal DVD’s may or may not directly affect you doesn’t make them less of a crime…and it doesn’t mean that it has to be tolerated.
snitches!
It’s hard to feel sympathetic for the piracy of so-called luxury brands — when its these luxury brands that help emphasize the split between the haves and have nots.
If anything, those pirated Chanel purses only help to increase the visibility of the brand, and are, in effect, free advertising.
You people really are calling the cops on a bootleg DVD seller? Imagine the rape that might have been prevented if a cop wasn’t busy answering your pathetic call.
ah dammm, now that you guys have moved to DT you see what it really is. the alleys been around longer than most of you recent arrivals. the alleys like boradway are what made it possible for you people to even consider DT as an economically viable place to live. broadway and the alleys have been the financial anchor to hold DT in place. now you guys complain about it?!?! and bootleg cd’s and DVD’s. yall really need to get a life. this is the worst article i have read here so far. very elitist. i guess the new Downtown yupsters arent that different from those who gentrified silve lake and the likes.
this is sad. go pick on drug dealers, and thieves and pimps. leave hard working independent entrepreneurs alone.
and get a life!!!
i agree with most of the comments…calling the police over fake dvds is stupid.
hello…you guys moved to downtown to experience the city life, well guess what, this is part of the city and what makes it so great! you can go down from your apt and buy a cheap dvd and watch it in the comfort of your own home within five minutes. try doing that in irvine.
some of you downtowners should chill out, drink your soy latte, and enjoy downtown for what it is…
@uni-quo
APPLAUSE! bravo! well-said
Ginny, you feel like you did your “part” that day you called the police on a bunch of DVD peddlers, but what “part” is that, exactly? Is this the part that includes the LAPD getting tired of calls about bootleg DVDs when they could be out protecting the streets against real crime? Are you standing next to your BBQ calling the LAPD every time you see a jaywalker through your telescope. “Officer Martinez, it’s me, Ginny. The guy in the red jacket didn’t use the crosswalk!! Yes, I’m sure! Gotta go, my ribs are done. Have a nice day, Officer.”
Why does Dottie Hinkle from “Serial Mom” come to mind?
DVD - Day. Hey folks…calm it down a bit. For my part, I didn’t “call” the cops. One was there on the platform and I told him what was going on and he let it go. So did I. My final point is just what I said. You end the purchase (drugs, dvds, ivory, whatever) and you end the sale.
There seems to be a gap in society from the affluent and the poor and you see this gap in society occuring in downtown all these new people I applaud for having the guts to come and live here downtown is a great place to learn from other worlds and cultures and im not talking about cultures as in race but as in income I applaud the hipsters and others that come here you make the neighboorhoods a better place yet you must realize where this argument is coming from the arguers to the article come from a world where shootings gangs and drugs is an evreyday thing to advise the police for anything that is illegal is the right thing to do but to acknowledge this achievement as something heroic is quite naive in a sesnse of where doing this should be just an evreyday good citizen act to in a big way or a little way such as cleaning up some graffiti will make this society a better place. For the new people in downtown that continue to come makes me feel good becuase there isnt this big gap anymore. This city can be better place rathar that an ignorant town where the rich and wealthy is in the westside and the eastside is the poor. Money changes people and makes people who they are dont let money be the greatest influence in your life or in other words dont let money make who you are.
Well said. And keep in mind that companies like Forever 21 have made a fortune from stealing designs from other designers. No difference. Plenty of garment and jewelry companies downtown hire “designers” to flip through magazines and knock off exactly what they see.
P.S. And Forever 21 is a Christian corporation.
I think what this all comes down to is ‘quality of life’. And though some people might find it elitist, I find it important. I don’t know… I call it self respect.
Illegal activity is illegal activity and if you turn the other cheek in your own neighborhood then you’re perpetuating a vicious cycle and on top of that, you’re being a pussy. Its easy to turn the other cheek. Its nobel, not to mention a lot more difficult to do the right thing. And sometimes its even more difficult to know what the right thing is.
Recently some friends and I were assaulted by a person who the police called ‘mentaly unstable’. We reported the crime (he spat on us, hit one of us, and verbaly threatened all our lives) and the cops showed up within minutes. But as I watched the situation unfold I realized that this person wanted to get arrested. (He sat down on the hood of a parked car as soon as he heard the sirens.) Some people who can’t get into the shelters are looking for a bed and possibly a free meal. Or maybe they just need to be institutionalized. Aparently assaulting a group of people who look like they might call the cops is a good way to achieve a more comfortable evening. I’m not so sure we did the right thing by turning him in without first teaching him a lesson with pepper spray and fists. All I know is that I don’t want to go through this again nor should I have to. But I will do what is needed to defend my neighborhood and my quality of life.
Call me elitist but I pay rent here. I work here. I pay my taxes here. I shop here. I follow my persuit of happiness here. and I enjoy myself here. And I think I have a duty to be socialy responsible and report a crime when I see one whether its stolen DVDs or harassment. I feel like every small thing I do is another discouraging factor to people who want to break the law and destroy my hard-earned quality of life in my neighborhood.
Counterfeit DVDs mean loss of jobs, period.
That doesn’t just mean Will Smith will have to give up a couple million on his next contract. That means your friend who designs sets won’t have a job next time around, or your auntie who owns a catering business won’t be able to make next month’s rent, or your neighbor lost his job as a lighting installer.
Before you spout off about how calling the police on a van full of illegal DVDs is elitist, think beyond your perceived notions of how this activity actually affects you, your family, your neighbors and your community at large.
i’m a designer- and if i lost my job the LAST person i would blame is the guy selling DVDs out of a van. its not his fault, he’s trying to make a living too. i might go sell some myself if it meant putting food on the table for my family! sorry guys, counterfeit goods are just not on my sh* list. real crimes are.
I work in film production and I get paid whether someone goes to see a movie at a theater, rents it at home or buys it out of a baby buggy. Period.
Don’t try to inject do-goodism into the film industry because you really don’t know what you’re talking about.
I’d love to work in an industry that isn’t affected by people not paying for a product. I guess they really do work magic in the movies.
Well then whats the big deal? Why don’t we just loby to make retail pirating legal? According to many of you this world would be a better place.
Let’s lobby against creative spelling first then play Don Quixote.
Awe man! you sure called me out, PW! Its my fatal flaw: I can’ t spell. That’s a really good argument for invalidating my opinnion. Bye bye.
Anyone dumb enough to buy a pirated dvd of a movie in theatres, gets what they pay for. Why would I want to watch somebodys videotape or bad pic quality pirated movie?! Dont even start on the poor sound. The people who are buying these dvds wouldnt be paying for HD or blu-ray or anything of quality anyways, so let em have it.
Or are they merely poor?
Isn’t that what’s not being said here?
In 2003 Downtown LA Life Magazine did an extensive spead on this with actual undercover pixs regarding the on-going problem which at the time was totally out of hand…looks like it still is. We went to all areas of Downtown, not just Santee. Today I can walk anyone into stores on Broadway to the edge of Koreatown/Little Tokyo etc. It’s all over the place. Many are still setting up shop right on the streets.
Christian Martinez
ATSD, are you serious??! The “poor” people of downtown LA have DVD players and spend their hard earned money on pirated dvds? Im sure those living in shelters and eating in soup kitchens would love to have an entertainment system to watch the latest movies. Get real.
They can spend that same $5 to rent a dvd or buy a used one, either of which would be 100 times the quality. Or for $7 go to a matine at the downtown theatre under the Marriott.
So buying camcordered versions of first run movies…uh….dumb
Vacant, so you’re judging and dictating what someone does with his money?
Dumber.
Didnt address how you define “poor” as people who have entertainment systems.
Seriously, the people selling these should be shut down for the fact that people may buy them and not know how cheap these knock offs are. So buying once a mistake maybe, buying twice dumb. If you had ever seen one of these movies you’d get it. Put that $5 into our economy.
The more serious issue is if you added up all the tax revenue lost from these sales it would be substantial, much more than people realize. The same taxes used to fund our public transit, which benefits low income people who cant afford cars. The same people that some here are defending have a right to purchase &/or sell them.
So why dont we just pay every one cash, sell everything tax free? Thats what were really talking about here. It seems nice to defend it as a cool part of city living, but in reality the sweat shops, people making thousands tax free unloading vans of dvds are literally robbing the public. I agree we dont need to make this the focus of crime prevention, but if they can send you to jail for not paying your taxes why do these people get off scott free?
A DVD player costs $ 20. (How much to make?)
Hope all of you against bootleg DVDs sales were as righteous against Halliburton’s rape of US tax money.
Oh dear god stop already. The consumer who buy a $5 DVD on the street is not the same consumer that buys it at Best Buy for $20. If this Ginny person with her barbeque & telescope gets her kicks dispatching the police for victimless stuff like this (and then boasting about it online), she’s too far gone for anything she reads here to have any effect. This kind of self-importance makes me sad.
All of you who believes there is such a thing as victimless crimes or that stealing copyrighted material is not worth reporting are deeply unserious people. If you believe the copyright laws are flawed or unjust, fine. Advocate they be abolished or modified. That’s a reasonable position. Personally, I think copyright is an engine of economic growth which enriches all of society. Artists ought to be richly rewarded for their work.
But, imagining that crime is part of the charm of your neighborhood, that’s incredibly immature. Public disorder is cool? Hipster-dipster poppycock, I say. I wonder how you explain right and wrong to your kids? Oh yeah, I forgot. People like you don’t want children. (Thanks heavens.) Or more regretably, if by mistake you do impregnant your girlfriend/date, you haphazardly raise profoundly confused and unhappy children (an incredibly evil act) who grow up to be confused adults like yourselves.
Ginny, please keep calling the cops.
Nagel, please.
I pity the next woman who gets mugged and raped while the downtown cops are tied up busting X for unloading “Zoolander” for $ 5.
Broken windows theory?
There is no such thing as a law for the poor and a law for the rest. We live by the rule of law. Stealing is stealing. Millions of lost revenue from businesses hurts all of us. It also hurts social services in lost taxes or unreported income which means less money going to the needy. Do the right thing, be lawful.
Christian
christian, don’t be so naive. big businesses steal “legally.” just because unethical big business practices are legitimized doesn’t mean what they do is not stealing—they steal from us and from their workers! how much do you think guatemalan or chinese or bangladeshi workers who sew a pair of jeans that retail in the u.s. for $200 earn? educate yourself in the new year. m
M I totally agree with you. But that is not the topic here and they like eveyone should be held accountable to the law. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW including you. I have been an activist for years and as of late protested with BofA (ganitors) workers. Educate thy self and have a happy new year without making suppositions without correct information.
Christian
since you are an activist, christian, you (of all people) should know that laws frequently favor the wealthy—in this case big business. just because something may be the law doesn’t make it necessarily right. mike.
I agree with Christian, but it sounds like we have some advocates to rescind copyright laws and/or sales taxes in general. I encourage those to write your local congressman, perhaps getting it on the ballott! Who knows!
M (why do you not ID yourself in the open?) -we have laws you can change. It’s possible in a participatory democracy. We don’t pick and choose the laws we will obey. Seems like a moral blind spot to think we are not all held accountable. Some may risk their freedom and jail, they may choose to disobey the law in protest, they still go before the judge. This is why in a civil society there is rule of law. I might point out that my father came to this counrty as an undocumented worker with a 4th grade education. He worked as a hotel staff manger in Downtown (Athletic Club) since the 1950’s, (actually worked 3 jobs). He became a citizen purchased a home and put us kids (5) through private school. If he could do it so can many others. I am the son of the American Dream. You don’t have to be lawless to win. Make it happen! - Christian
1. i like being “m.”
2. it’s worth repeating that just because something is the law doesn’t make it right—laws disallowing gay marriage, for instance.
3. resisting unjust laws can be a form of protest—a crucial component of any democratic society.
4. here’s hoping for a more socially just and peaceful 2009—happy new year all!
OMG. Happy New Year. Would have replied sooner, but I’ve been tied up the last couple of days.
But, I didn’t need to reply anyways.
I just wanted to say - I report crimes when I see them. DVD pirates, mugging, hit and run…but I will say: I did way more reporting when I lived over at Wilshire/Barrington than I do here at 6th/Spring.
IMHO, Downtown is much more of a friendly neighborhood than the Westside was. It’s just a shot in the dark, but I would venture a guess that the negative posters haven’t lived downtown much, if at all. Or, they just don’t know their neighborhood very well.
But, if I’m off, then I apologize.
Wow, a lot of defenders of DVD piracy here. I wonder how many feel so strongly about the issue that they have been working to reverse these laws they feel are unjust.
I think everyone’s overlooking the real crime here. The DVDmobile Ginny reported was taking up a much-needed parking spot. Oh, the humanity! Thank you, Ginny, for helping to free up that spot, if only for a day.
You may not like Ginny. But she just happens to be one of the most dedicated workers for the PEOPLE of Downtown than 96.7% of those living in DT. Because people believe in lawful behavior and keeping Chaos off the streets, it’s is a good thing. The comments against a rule of law reminds me of the Gang oriented “Don’t Snitch” evil campaign. You don’t want a civil breakdown of our laws. AND BTW as a supporter of GLBT marriage I don’t see why that is an excuse for unlawful behavior,like selling illegal DVDs or knock-off Gucci.. “Do the crime, Do the Time.” Your choice.
Christian