By Khalida Sarwari
Saratoga is not the only city experiencing a noticeable rise in property crime and residential burglaries, but while the city remains among the safest in the state, the uptick has left a number of residents rattled and concerned for their safety.
In reports released by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, break-ins and thefts are a common sight week after week, with items such as jewelry, electronics and cash favored by the criminals. According to Rick Sung, captain of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s West Valley Division, of the 303 people deputies arrested in Saratoga last year, 90 were for narcotics violations, nearly all of them also connected to thefts and burglaries. Five were for weapon violations, 32 involved property crimes and 27 cases involved parolees or folks on probation, most of them for property crimes. There was a 9 percent increase in property crime between 2014 and 2015 and a 25 percent increase in residential burglaries in the same period, Sung said.
Clearly, burglaries are a problem, but it’s not unique to Saratoga.
“Saratoga is certainly feeling it right now, but it’s not an anomaly compared to the rest of the state,” said Sung. “Property crime and overall crime is up throughout the state.”
He attributes this to what he deems the failure of Proposition 47, an initiative that reduces the classification of most lesser, nonviolent property and drug crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor. While it’s an “excellent concept,” Prop. 47 hasn’t worked out so great in reality, Sung said, particularly because the programs and services that were supposed to be funded by the proposition are not getting any money. Prop. 47 has made it so that violators are no longer required to serve lengthy jail sentences or report to a probation officer. Now, often they’ll be released immediately after paying a citation.
“It’s a workable solution as long as the money and programs are available to support those that are in need,” Sung said, optimistically adding, “It’s not working right now, but it could.”
As it stands, the state’s recidivism rate is 70 to 80 percent, according to Sung.
“Is it a hope that these crimes will completely go away? Of course, that’s what we shoot for, but is it ever going to happen? No, it’s someone else’s problem,” said Sung.
Mayor Manny Cappello said city officials went before Assemblyman Evan Low to discuss the possibility of amending Prop. 47.
“The problem that we’re experiencing and that our sheriff’s office is telling us is that many of the offenders that are caught doing these property crime incidents are repeat offenders,” he said.
Cappello said the “legislative fix” his office requested likely won’t be granted any time soon, but added, “We’re going to continue the fight and continue to work this in next year’s legislative session.”
In the meantime, there are measures that both the city and sheriff’s office are taking to combat this issue. Education goes a long way, said Sung, so that residents know when to call, what to call about and how they can relay that information to allow law enforcement officers to take appropriate action. Both the city and sheriff’s office have held a number of public safety forums, with more on the way. The sheriff’s office also utilizes Nextdoor.comand social media to convey information, said Sung.
“If there’s anything suspicious, do not call your loved ones or your friends; call the sheriff’s office,” he said. “We want to be our residents’ best friend, because a best friend is someone you can rely on, someone you can trust. We want to be the first one to receive the phone call.”
Sung said the sheriff’s office has increased patrols and works closely with its burglary suppression unit, whose members conduct targeted enforcement in burglary hot spots as well as undercover operations.
The city is also taking measures of its own by putting its traffic safety commission to work on the issue, according to Cappello. The commission, which historically has focused on quality-of-life issues such as traffic and speeding in neighborhoods and around schools, has been tasked with becoming ambassadors of safety in neighborhoods, said Cappello. Members were asked to remind residents to lock their gates, make sure they have motion-activated lighting, and to install any security cameras in front of their home, pointing toward the street or driveway, and register them on Crimestoppers.com. The overarching goal is to build awareness and ensure that people have a certain level of sensitivity to suspicious activity in their neighborhood, he said.
“A lot of time people see something, but they don’t want to bother the sheriff’s office,” he said. “We want to encourage that people call on everything. We rely on neighbors to be the eyes and the ears of their street or their neighborhood. Should they see anything that’s even remotely suspicious, they should call 911.”
Link: Mayor, sheriff’s captain address rise in crime, residential burglaries
