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| Photo: Eric Risberg/Associated Press |
Voters just might be ready to reject lawlessness and disorder.
The Golden State has long been a cultural trend-setter and a popular destination for leisure travel. But this is not a story about loading the kids into a metallic-pea Wagon Queen Family Truckster and heading out west. It seems that California is now attracting an entirely new category of vacationers.
Sid Garcia reports for KABC-TV in Los Angeles:
Law enforcement agencies call it “crime tourism” -- groups of thieves from South America traveling to California to burglarize homes...
They’re able to easily obtain tourist visas to travel to California by applying online. Once they have a visa they land at LAX and start their crime spree.
Residents in one Camarillo neighborhood say they’re well aware of the South American burglary crews that have been targeting their community and the surrounding areas.
“Several of my friends have been hit repeatedly,” Camarillo resident John McGrath said... According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, last year alone, they handled 100 cases involving crews from South America.
Betty Yu recently reported for CBS station KPIX in San Francisco that law-enforcement officials believe such crews are operating in northern California as well: --->READ MORE HERE
It's looking like easy pickings for South American "crime tourism" crews.
Authorities say they apparently have no problem entering the U.S. after applying online for tourist visas to visit California — and police say they stake out homes in wealthy communities and fleece them once owners are gone, even for short periods of time.
KGO-TV noted surveillance video released by police in Hillsborough — which is less than a half hour south of San Francisco — showing one crime tourism crew targeting a luxury home. The station said it's a phenomenon happening all over the state.
What else?
Earlier this month, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office arrested a four-man crew that robbed a home in a neighborhood in Camarillo, KGO said.
"This is crime tourism. They're coming here for the purpose of targeting neighborhoods," Cmdr. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office told the station. "Specifically vehicles, homes. Not violent crimes, but they're going after the big bucks. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to related stories:
Foreign Criminals Flying to U.S. on Tourist Visas to Rob Rich Californians
'Crime tourism' bringing burglary crews from South America to affluent California communities
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