The good news is that Newport Beach is a safe city. The bad news is that means residents and visitors often are so casual about security that they make themselves perfect targets for thieves — which is why the police department has launched a new crime prevention campaign aimed at making residents more aware.
At a news conference and fashion show event held Wednesday morning, the Newport Beach Police Department unveiled The Stolen Collection campaign, which features male models posing as crooks with faux stolen accessories. The tagline of each ad says “secure your valuables or lose them.”
The campaign was developed in a partnership with police and the Long Beach-based ETA advertising agency. Chief Jay Johnson said the campaign has cost $21,000 so far, with continuing costs in the future, but that taxpayers did not foot the bill. Instead, he said, the funds came from asset forfeiture procedures.
At the Wednesday news conference at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa near Fashion Island, the police chief said that 96 percent of all crimes in the city are property crimes that cost victims $10 to $12 million a year.
“Most of the crimes are preventable,” he said. In 93 percent of cases, he said, victims have left doors unlocked and valuable items in plain sight.
“How do we get the message to the community without giving the perception we have a major crime problem?” he said. Community message boards, neighborhood watch meetings, social media campaigns and other efforts haven’t worked, police said, and some residents have been victimized again and again, never remembering to lock the doors of their cars and homes.
Last summer, the department began working with the advertising agency to create a campaign that will be used on buses, social media, at movie theaters, on door hangers and more.
The Stolen Collection campaign features six models posing as criminals, dressed in black, carrying designer purses filled with iPhones, wearing designer sunglasses. The “stolen” accessories represent the types of items typically lost in local thefts, and they are portrayed in bright, vibrants colors in each advertising spot.
At the Wednesday event, seven models were featured in a runway show, with Newport Beach Police Lt. Jon Lewis introducing each one.
“Here we have Niko,” Lewis said. “He’s mastered the runway and running away with people’s stuff…Let’s give a shout out to the owner of that sporty white import for leaving it unlocked…”
The campaign will be ongoing, with future ads possibly focusing on preventing thefts at the beach for summertime, said Jennifer Manzella, a police department spokeswoman.
City Manager Dave Kiff as well as Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry attended the news conference/fashion show event.
Curry said that crime has dropped each year for the past four years, but working to prevent property crimes in a creative way was important.
“We love our community here and our quality of life,” he said. “We always strive to be better.”