Crime & Safety

Graphic: Altadena Crime Rates Fall in First Third of Year

Crime is down compared to the same period last year.

The has released crime figures for the first four months of 2011, and the news is good for Altadena: Violent crime is down by almost 8 percent and property crime is down by almost 44 percent compared with the first four months of 2010.

The overall crime rates compare favorably with the county, with Altadena showing a substantially overall lower rates than the county as a whole.

Though the numbers reflect a substantial improvement over the first few months of 2010, Altadena crime rates have basically been stable since about September.  From September to November, for example, the city saw 43 burglaries, just under 15 a month average.  So far this year, the city has seen 65 burglaries, an average of just over 15 a month.

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The huge overall drop is the result of a big upswing in burglaries around this time last year, when Altadena was averaging about 30 a month, giving it one of the top rates in the county.  Starting around August to September, the department .

"Once we got it down, since September, it's been pretty steady from month to month," said Lt. Joe Dempsey of the Altadena Sheriff's Department.

Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In violent crime, Altadena saw some serious problems in February and early March, with the shooting death of and a subsequent in Altadena and Pasadena.

In March and April, things calmed down some, and the city has actually seen fewer assaults compared to the same period last year.

Altadena did see a high rate of increase in rape in the first four months, but the total overall numbers were one case last year compared to four this year.  All four cases so far this year have been ones in which the assailant knew the victim rather than a random street crime, Dempsey said.


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