Good Afternoon Paul,

I wanted to advise you of an ongoing criminal activity that has been a hot topic in the Hollywood Hills the past several months.

Vacant properties have been the target of squatters. Squatters are people that unlawfully occupy an uninhabited building or unused land. Often times vacant properties that appear to be left abandoned with overgrown landscaping, and an unkept appearance attract people who will hide under the guise being at a location for maintenance, or contract work. They can provide easily accessible owner information to questioning neighbors or police, and are known to provide mail or paperwork with their name on it to distract from the fact that they are unlawfully occupying the real estate.

I encourage every person who often travels, or who owns a property that is unoccupied for more than a few days to complete a “Trespass Authorization Form”. This form is extremely important because if an officer responds to a radio call for a trespass investigation, and they come across a person who claims to live at a location, but the reporting person or neighbors say different, then the officers can contact the Watch Commander’s Office and check to see if the person at the location has legal authority over the property.

The form is completed yearly, and has to be notarized or signed by a police officer in order to be valid. In cases where a form is completed, and the community member wants me to sign the document, I will retrieve the document in person to verify they own/ reside at the property listed on the form.

The law for trespassing states that a trespasser has to be warned. In the event that a trespasser is a squatter, and the form is on file, officers can make contact with the person listed on the form and verify if the suspect is legally at the location.

There have been recent cases in the Hollywood Hills where an individual has squatted in a residence, and established residence for over a month before the owner of the property has found out. The owner of the property had to go through an eviction process, and the squatter continued living in the residence for approximately one year.

This same squatter would even attempt to take over other vacant house and posts his activities on social media. He would then encourage other people to do as he does and attempt to take over properties.