Rich and famous residents of Los Angeles’ fire-stricken Pacific Palisades community are frequent users of private security – but Los Angeles’ infamous red tape is keeping some of their guards away from their clientele, according to private security experts.
At least 20 people have been arrested on looting-related charges, and authorities, while warning residents and copycats alike, said the numbers could rise.
Craig Paul, the CEO of ASC Private Security in Los Angeles, said he’s got bodies on the ground willing to work, but he can’t get authorization to send them inside restricted areas where his clients need them.
“I sat on hold for 45 minutes with the LAPD, with nobody ever picking up,” he told Fox News Digital. “So I finally gave up on that, pretty much knowing that even if they answer the phone, they’re going to blow me off.”
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Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
He said one of his customers snuck in behind police lines and hiked up a mountain to check on his property because he was so worried – then asked if his agents could do that, too. That’s not an option, he said, but he’s hopeful that police will let his teams in.
The Pacific Palisades community in particular, at the heart of one of the largest active wildfires, is a high-income community that already faces frequent threats of burglary and home invasion.
“These are $30-, $40-, $50 million homes with individuals that deserve to have that level of property properly protected,” he said.
