Police Town Hall draws 500

Apr 14, 2015
2 min read

About 500 people turned out to hear officials from the Arcadia Police Department offer important tips on how to guard against becoming a victim of a residential burglary Tuesday night at a special Town Hall meeting at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center. So many attendees kept coming that the meeting began a few minutes late and people continued arriving halfway into the presentation. Among those in the audience were Mayor Wuo and three of the four City Council Members as well as City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto.

Police Chief Robert Guthrie wrapped the program by reminding everyone that Arcadia remains a very safe community, especially compared with others, but that everyone needs to be alert and participate to help police keep Arcadia as safe as possible — the vast majority of criminals are caught as the result of tips and calls to police by residents and merchants.

Mike Castro of Arcadia Police offers safety tips at April 12 Neighborhood Watch block party organized by Sherry and Sho Tay

That message of the importance of Neighborhood Watch programs and the police department’s “See Something, Say Something” campaign was emphasized during a PowerPoint presentation by Sgt. Brian Ortiz, who began by pointing out that residential burglaries are up 69% over last year so far in 2015, a statistic that drew a collective gasp of shock from the audience. Vehicle burglaries are up 25% and auto thefts 17%. (The good news is that commercial burglaries are down 25% and thefts from vehicles is down 24%.)

Ortiz said there was no obvious reason why residential burglaries are up so much this year but he said there are many things residents can do to make it far less likely that they will be targeted. By removing or reducing opportunity, burglars will be much less inclined to burglarize your home, preferring to go where the crime is much easier to pull off.

The calm and orderly dissemination of information by Arcadia Police to hundreds of grateful Arcadia residents was in stark contrast to the protest of police brutality going on at the same time a few miles away in Downtown Los Angeles that resulted in rush hour delays for light rail commuters. Most of the questions from the audience at the conclusion of the Arcadia Police Town Hall were relating to how many of the burglars have been caught (most — ten recently), how long are they held before being released (sometimes only hours if they make bond), and if they are repeat offenders (mostly yes, but generally do not repeat the crime in Arcadia, but other cities).

Among the tips:

Call police anytime you see anything that looks suspicious — they want to hear from you and will quickly come out and investigate. Call the non-emegency line with tips, such as suspicious people at your door or in the neighborhood: (626) 574-5123 (only call 9-1-1 in an emergency situation, such as when a crime is in progress).

PoliceRezBurglaryForum4-14-15SgtOrtizSpeak

Sgt. Brian Ortiz

Keep in touch with neighbors and keep an eye on each other’s homes.

Try not to keep regular hours of leaving and returning to your residence.
Don’t be obvious about valuables you are bringing in to your home.
Keep doors and windows locked.
Don’t allow strangers at your door to distract you while they may be sending a partner around the back of your home.
Be aware of suspicious activity, such as unfamiliar people loitering or unfamiliar vehicles driving slowly or parked for no obvious reason, especially high-end cars.

Police Chief Robert Guthrie

When shopping: — do not leave your purse on roof of car or even in passenger seat while unloading groceries in the trunk — lock your car doors and close your windows — when returning to your car in parking lot, do not unlock your car door until you get right up to it