A neighborhood anti-crime group in the Melrose Avenue area of Los Angeles will install license plate readers to combat a rising crime wave. The organization, which is called Melrose Action, had raised about $30,000 by Dec. 8 through donations to purchase up to 15 readers that will capture license plates on vehicles traveling in the Melrose Avenue area. “It’s really out there to protect the people who are coming here to enjoy a meal, or shop or hang out, and feel safe and not be assaulted by people with guns,” Peter Nichols, the group’s co-founder, told CBC7 News. In the past two years, the trendy shopping area has seen an uptick of violent crimes, including homicides, violent armed robberies, aggravated assaults, high-dollar jewelry street robberies, “follow-home” robberies, and “smash-and-grab” retail thefts. “As residents and merchants of the Melrose area of Los Angeles, we are very alarmed by the recent surge …