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ARCADIA -- Police hosted a community meeting Thursday to teach residents about how to avoid becoming a victim of crime.
About three dozen people attended the event, titled "Don't Be A Victim," held at the Arcadia Public Library. Arcadia Police Chief Robert Sanderson and Sgt. Brian Ortiz addressed residents and responded to questions.
The chief encouraged residents to be the department's eyes and ears, and to report suspicious activity to police.
"Do not hesitate to call us," Sanderson said. "We really emphasize, call, call, call."
Ortiz agreed, saying, "Don't ignore your instincts. If you see something that looks suspicious, it probably is."
Ortiz offered other tips to help avoid becoming a crime victim, such as keeping valuables out of plain view, keeping hedges trimmed away from front windows.
"Criminals look for easy targets," he said. "Make it more difficult for them."
The sergeant also advised residents to walk with their keys in hand as they approach their cars.
Not only will it allow them to get into cars more quickly should trouble arise, he said, "If you are assaulted by someone, keys make a pretty good weapon."
Ortiz also cited ways in which the Arcadia Police Department has been incorporating technology into police work.
License plate reading cameras, composite drawing software and audio recording enhancement equipment are just a few examples Ortiz gave.
The department has also recently set up a new public information blog, arcadiapolice.blogspot.com, and uses Nixle.com to send out alerts to interested residents, officials said. The department is also looking into putting all of it's crime data online on a "crime map."
In addition to giving out safety tips, Sanderson warned residents that a state plan to release tens of thousand of convicted felons from prison over the next several years could have a major impact on local crime trends as the county sees "more criminals on the streets."
Though a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordering the release of more than 40,000 state prisoners over the next two years is on hold pending review by the California Supreme Court, both the county jail and state prisons are planning to release thousands of inmates early this year due to budget problems, Sanderson said.
The chief said he estimated the number of prisoners released into Los Angeles County would more than double this year, from about 7,000 to about 14,500.
"We can extrapolate and expect that crime is going to go up in the next few years," he said.
Arcadia City Councilman Peter Amundson attended the meeting.
"I think it was a great presentation," he said. "I just wish more people would have come.
"(Arcadia) is a safe city," Amundson added, "but we always need to be prepared, so I appreciate what they're doing."

From reporter Rebecca Kimitch working the early cops shift:

PASADENA - A naked woman fleeing a parking lot where she was allegedly breaking windows led police on a 28-mile chase last night before she lost control of her car and was apprehended.

The chase began on the 2400 block of Mohawk Street where police responded to calls of a disturbance in a parking lot. The woman fled immediately and led police west on the 210 to the  134 west to the 170 north, before crashing her car on the side of the highway near the intersection of highway 170 and highway 5, Sgt. Vasken Gourdikian said.

Here's some video from KCBS/KCAL