Despite Heightened Perception, Residential Burglaries Down in Glendora

Photo by Zak Bushey.

Residential burglaries in 2015 were down in Glendora. This despite many who believe our once quiet little city is getting out of control.

In 2015 there were 111 residential burglaries in Glendora, down from 124 in 2014. That’s a 10.5% decrease year over year.

Many residents will be surprised to hear these numbers, especially since we have had many well publicized burglaries over the last year and social media has enabled occurrences to be well circulated.

One of the more high profile burglaries of 2015 ended in the arrest of eight L.A. street gang members burglarizing Glendora homes *Photo courtesy of GPD

One of the more high profile burglaries of 2015 ended in the arrest of eight members of an L.A. street gang that was burglarizing Glendora homes *Photo courtesy of GPD

Social Media and hyper-local news (which is what GCN is considered) is a blessing and a curse. As technology and social media grow, so does our awareness of local occurrences, both good and bad. Along with GCN, social media neighborhood watch groups help keep residents aware of many crimes being committed and what to look out for.

If you add in commercial burglaries, than the total burglaries for 2015 is up by seven from 2014 to 2015. This represents a 3.9% increase. Although higher, it is still far less than previous years in the last last couple of decades. Since 2001, Glendora saw only three other years with less total burglaries than in 2015.

Glendora PD hosts many community outreach events aimed at answering residents questions about traffic tickets, starting neighborhood watch groups and much more. *Photo courtesy GPD

Glendora PD hosts many community outreach events aimed at answering residents questions about traffic tickets, starting neighborhood watch groups and much more. *Photo courtesy GPD

The Glendora Police Department is using a team effort to combat the rise of residential burglaries we have seen in nearby communities. Captain Joe Ward of Glendora PD addressed the importance of these tactics with GCN.

“Residential burglaries are a serious crime and it takes a team effort to catch the suspects. We have had great success in catching these burglars when alert residents have called us. When it appears a burglary is in progress, everyone responds. This includes patrol officers, detectives in the station, the Chief, and myself”, Capt Ward said.

Some techniques our police department is using include the following according to Capt. Ward:

  • The Community Impact Team and Burglary detectives work together to identify known suspects and crime trends in the San Gabriel Valley.  This information is disseminated to our patrol officers to assist in preventative patrols.
  • We process crime scenes for fingerprints and DNA evidence. All officers are trained to collect this. Detectives will conduct follow up with search and arrest warrants for identified suspects.
  • We use innovative strategies such as deploying GPS tracked bait bicycles and other items.
  • Residential burglaries are one of our highest priorities.

The following is a list of total burglaries in Glendora by year. Information provided by www.city-data.com and information reported by GPD to the Department of Justice.

YEAR – TOTAL BURGLARIES

2001- 186

2002- 221

2003- 202

2004- 228

2005- 183

2006- 205

2007- 218

2008- 236

2009- 178

2010- 228

2011- 185

2012- 202

2013- 173

2014- 176

2015- 183

A Message from the Chief | Crime Prevention is a Team Sport