Update on Criminal Activity and

From our Sherrif Community Liaison:

Last week on Wednesday night, on the east side of Altadena, a resident called the Sheriff's Station to report a burglary in process, and indicated that two men rang his front door bell and when the resident didn't answer, they shook the door. Then, one of the men went back to the sidewalk and stood, the other disappeared from sight. The resident thought perhaps he should go look at the rear of his home. Sure enough, the other man was trying to gain entry.

The Sheriff's deputies arrived too quickly (depending on your point of view) and the man attempting to gain entry hadn't yet succeeded. Both men were arrested, but could only be arrested on attempted burglary. We don't know yet what the outcome of that will be.

At the beginning of this week, the Detectives who have been working on all of the burglaries asked Captain Blow if they could set up a community meeting on the subject of burglary. That community meeting is tentatively scheduled for early October. We are waiting for confirmation from the school at which it will be held.

Many things are frustrating the process of capturing burglars and prosecuting them successfully. To the Detectives and Deputies, it doesn't help if you email each other when you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, but you don't call the Sheriff's Station.

If you won't call the Sheriff's Station, the deputies cannot just stop someone from driving or parking in your area. They have to have a cause to stop and question someone.

They have asked many times for all of us to call when you see strangers in your neighborhood. These people may have a legitimate reason for being there, and if they do, the deputies will sort that out.

It also isn't so helpful if you call to report an attempted burglary or that someone broke into your car two weeks after the event occurred. Nothing works better than catching burglars in the progress.

The Detectives and Deputies need your help. Last Wednesday night before the resident called to advise that someone was attempting to break in to his home, two men knocked on someone else's door. That happened earlier in the evening, but I don't know how much earlier. In this instance, the resident answered the door, and the stranger asked if he could come in. The resident said, "no", and shut the door.

While at my residence in New Mexico, I received 2 emails from my homeowner's association advising of 3 daytime burglaries here - all described in exactly the same way - knock on the front door, no answer, they head to the back of the house and find a way to make entry, or in one incident, they forced entry at the front door. Just like we are experiencing in Altadena, the burglars are also very bold and will enter a home through the front door if it is unlocked, even if someone is in the house. They walk in, take the TV and any handy computer and out they go before anyone even realizes someones been inside their home.

You can be part of the solution. Don't leave your doors and windows unlocked. Don't make it any easier that it already seems to be for people to break in.

More importantly - CALL THE SHERIFF'S STATION 626 798 1131

I'll have confirmation of the date for the community meeting by Monday.As always, if you have questions, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks very much,
Carolyn