Crime on the Increase in Quarterly Report

Crime in Piedmont took a big jump in the first three months of the year, increasing by 58 percent in total crimes over the same period last year.

The raw numbers reflect 90 total crimes for three months of 2011 vs. 57 crimes in those three months last year:

“The vast majority of these crimes happened in the lower portion of Piedmont, below Highland (Avenue),” Police Chief John Hunt III told the Piedmont City Council Monday. “We will continue to concentrate our patrols there, target that area with our presence.

“Like a lot of different professions, criminals have a pattern they follow. They like to get in and get out as quickly as possible—on Moraga Avenue, Oakland Avenue, Grand Avenue,” Hunt said—corridors they use to get back and forth to Oakland and Berkeley.

The Piedmont statistics reflect:

• Larceny-thefts went from 42 to 51;
• Motor vehicle thefts went from 5 to 12;
• Robberies went from 1 to 3 (with no injuries reported in those three);
• Burglaries went from 9 to 24.

In the burglaries, Hunt said, 14 were residences, three were garages, three were unoccupied houses under construction. Of the 14 residential burglaries, three homes were occupied at the time of the burglary—two at night and one during the day.

Of the larceny thefts, a large portion were items taken from unlocked vehicles, Hunt said. He urged residents to “become part of our team and help out by protecting themselves.”

The auto thefts were a return to normal, as last year’s number was abnormally low, Hunt said.

Councilwoman Margaret Fujioka asked Hunt to include a map with locations of crimes in his next report to the council. Councilman Garrett Keating credited the police department with a “nifty” online tool that allows the user to map events by crime or by time period.

On a related matter, the council unanimously extended the term of the Piedmont Public Safety Committee through February 2012.

The committee has launched an for the city, with 310 participants to date, according to the report to the council by Chairman Ray Marshall. The committee this fall plans to provide an email program enrollment link on the Piedmont Unified School District online registration page.

Fujioka commended the effort and urged citizens to sign up for the email alerts. “It’s an easy way to get a notice out when there’s a problem in the city of Piedmont,” she said.