There were no homicides in Glendora in 2011, but larceny continued to be the most prevalent crime in the city, making up 77 percent of all arrests, according to Glendora Police reports.
Glendora Police made 1,066 larceny arrests in 2011, a 12 percent increase over the previous year.
“Major crime in our community remains very low,” said Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro during his State of the City address Jan. 19. “As a community of means people come from outside our jurisdiction to commit theft.”
However, Castro said many of these crimes could be prevented.
“A lot of times, these are crimes of opportunity,” he said. “They look for vehicles that are unlocked, they look for valuables that have been left out, we find that many of our home burglaries have been because homes have been left unlocked.”
But in recent years since the economic downturn, an alarming trend of what Castro calls “crimes of desperation” has developed.
“It’s very hard for an officer who’ll go out there and catch a shoplifter and it’s a mother trying to get diapers and formula for her baby because she’s at that point of desperation,” said Castro.
He said the police department refers such cases to local churches and programs aimed to help those in financial need.
Because many of the larceny crimes reported are “crimes of opportunity,” there is very little traceable evidence left behind, according to Glendora police. With larceny making up most of the city’s crime, clearance rate of local crimes remains low at 29 percent.
There were 7 rapes, 33 robberies, 23 assault cases, 185 burglaries, 56 auto thefts and 2 arsons accounted for in 2011.
Last year’s crime trends were consistent with 2010 results, with 51 more arrests in 2011 than in 2010.
