Newsflash from the Past: Police Order Crackdown on Hitchhiking
LOS ANGELES TIMES (June 11, 1963) — VAN NUYS –Several young boys have been picked up in the Valley by molesters, Police Insp. Edward M. Davis said Monday in ordering a Valleywide campaign against such crimes.
Davis, patrol area commander for the Valley, said the police department, is concerned over the increased activity.
He said all four Valley police divisions have been instructed to increase their enforcement against hitchhikers as well as motorists who pick up boys.
URGES CAUTION
Davis urged parents to caution their children on the dangers involved in hitchhiking.
He said the perverts give rides to the youthful hitchhikers and one recently tried to kidnap a youth from a city street but was prevented when several men in the vicinity noticed the incident.
“An effort will be made to vigorously enforce all law violations committed by predatory perverts,” Davis said.
He added that officers have been ordered to cite both the motorist and the hitchhiker in all cases for hitchhiking.
Photo taken on Van Nuys Blvd. in 1963. (Photographer: George Brich / LAPL 00119603
