Glendora PD: 2012 Sees Rise of Property Crimes

At the close of 2012, property crime remained the most committed crime in Glendora and its numbers continue to rise, according to Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro.

The big increases in crime in Glendora are auto thefts (up 32 percent), burglaries (up 9 percent) and assaults (up 4 percent).

There was a 15 percent decrease in robberies and a 4.5 percent drop in larceny. However, the value of property stolen is up 12 percent, said Castro.

“The trend I am seeing is the arrests of numerous AB 109 released prisoners who are committing burglaries, car thefts and drug violations,” said Castro.

Under AB 109, which went into effect October 2011, state prisoners up for parole could be eligible for post-release community supervision or probation.  While state officials argued these prisoners were up for release regardless, the questioned remained – who would monitor them?

“LA County Probation and LASD were given the funding and the responsibility to monitor these subjects but we are not seeing that being done,” said Castro. As a result, a local Glendora PD team was created to monitor and conduct residential compliance checks at the expense of the city.

In 2012, Glendora Police made 73 arrests of AB 109 releases who committed a new crime in Glendora.

“The trend LA County Chiefs have seen is that property crimes and drug crimes are increasing in wealthy and upper middle class communities such as Glendale, Torrance, South Pasadena and Glendora,” he said. “Some of the increases are attributed to the AB 109 released prisoners.”

Adult arrests in Glendora are also up 19.5 percent and drug arrests went up by 8 percent.