Altadena continues to suffer from property crimes problems

Today the county sheriff's department released its annual report for the first six months of crime statistics in 2010. The big news is that in all areas policed by the sheriff (including Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, Temple City, and Rosemead, among others locally) violent crimes are down by almost 4 percent, and homicides down by over 17 percent, compared to the first six months of 2009.

Property crimes are also down countywide. However, Altadena is not in line with the rest of the county- it has actually seen a 39.6 percent increase from last year, part of a terrible five year trend that has seen area property crimes go up by almost 70 percent.

No other station has seen an increase of even 10 percent. Pasadena, has seen slight increases, but only in the single digits, according to its most updated crime figures.

So what is going on in Altadena? We'll have an in-depth look at it tomorrow, but the short answer, according to Captain Steve McLean of the Altadena Sheriff's Station, is people are leaving their cars and homes unlocked, and burglars are having an easy time snatching valuables. The perception in the community, he said, for at least some people, is that the town is exceptionally safe and locking doors is not necessary.

The department has been trying to get the word out about the problem- back in April we wrote a story about a door-to-door campaign from the department to get people to take more care and keep a watch over their property and their neighbor's property.

McLean says the department has been making a ton of arrests, and that the number of crimes has begun to decline. We'll be keeping an eye on the figures over the next few months, and hopefully they will reflect those efforts.