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For some Palo Alto drivers, the holiday season was not the most wonderful time of year.
If the week before Christmas was any kind of foreshadowing for car burglaries, the omen came true starting the following week when nearly five dozen cars were broken into in a span of 10 days, about 34 of which resulted in stolen property, according to the Palo Alto Police Department’s crime reports.
Between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, there were about 34 reports of car break-ins where items such as laptops, cellphones, camera equipment, clothes and car registrations were stolen from the vehicles.
“It can take just a few seconds where they’re reaching and taking what they see,” said police spokeswoman Janine De la Vega. “The hot spots would be in the shopping centers and the downtown parking lots.”
An interactive map of the reported incidents reveals a cluster of break-ins in downtown Palo Alto along University Avenue, where the burglars smashed the windows and stole items — a similar finding in the Weekly’s report on car break-ins prior to Christmas. In the 10-day span after the holiday, burglars broke into five cars at Stanford Shopping Center on 180 El Camino Real and took personal property.
Residential areas were also susceptible to break-ins, with six reports of car burglaries near Hamilton Avenue in the Crescent Park neighborhood.
Based on the crime reports, it appears the most popular day car burglars struck was last Thursday, Jan. 2. On that day, the department logged 21 cases of unwanted entry into vehicles or items taken, making up 47% of the car break-ins within the 10-day span. However, it’s important to note that the time and dates provided by the reports do not necessarily reflect the moment the crime occurred, but rather the time it was reported to the police.
“Specifically with auto burglaries … they’re not being witnessed,” said De la Vega.
Between January and November of last year, the number of auto burglaries increased to 68% compared to 2018, according to a police press release issued last month.
In response, De la Vega said the Police Department continues to take proactive measures to combat car burglaries and thefts with increased patrols around hot spots through high visibility patrols and special enforcement teams where officers monitor while dressed in plainclothes.
Police also suggest drivers to be proactive and take several precautions before leaving the vehicle. Some tips include securing vehicle doors, windows and hoods; taking along all valuable items; parking in visible areas during daylight; using the garage, if available; and not leaving behind any personal identification documents or credit cards.
More information on preventing car thefts, carjacking and other vehicle-related crimes can be found on the city’s website here.
Click here for an interactive map on the recent car break-ins.
Related content:
The police need to step up and do something about this. Their mantra of “…securing vehicle doors, windows, hood and trunks; taking along all items or locking them in the trunk; parking in visible areas during daylight; using the garage, if available; and not leaving behind any personal identification documents or credit card…” while useful is starting to feel more and more like an excuse for lack of activity progress.
I remember that for car thefts police have often used bait cars to catch theives, can they not try the same here, place a vehicle with tempting contents (with GPS tracker) in high theft areas, setup cameras to monitor when a theft occurs and then track the suspect. Seems like this could help.
@downfall: PA Police arrested five auto burglary suspects yesterday, they do a great job of catching criminals, please do not bash them. In addition, with the current anti-law enforcement atmosphere, it’s not easy to hire police officers. It’s much easier to be a wimp, sit anonymously behind a computer and criticize than be courageous and wear the uniform.
It’s like kids in a candy shop. Someone reported on NextDoor that their car window was smashed and the glove compartment raided but there was nothing to steal. Criminals just follow the Candyland road to Palo Alto due to the stereotype that everyone here is wealthy. Someone else reported that their back door was locked on Louis Road and their camera got footage of the burglar walking into their house. These burglars are getting bold, it’s disturbing.
You can thank the progressive liberals in Sacramento for enacting legislation (prop. 47) that makes these crimes misdemeanors. At most, the perps get a citation and a slap on the wrist (no too hard though or police brutality lawsuits will follow and the criminals will be compensated).
The rise in this type of crime is backed by statistics. Time for voters to wake up to the fact they are responsible for this mess. Think about that the next time you cast a ballot.
@ Downfall….”I remember that for car thefts police have often used bait cars to catch thieves, can they not try the same here, place a vehicle with tempting contents (with GPS tracker) in high theft areas, setup cameras to monitor when a theft occurs and then track the suspect. Seems like this could help.”
What’s the point? The cops are “handcuffed” (no pun intended). They do the work, arrest the perps and the courts let the criminals go with a slap on the wrist. It’s a waste of time and manpower. Progressive liberals in Sacramento are responsible for this as are the voters who put them in office. Prop 47 makes all these crimes misdemeanors. Don’t ever vote for a progressive liberal again unless you want more of the same. It’s a hard pill to swallow for all the progressives and liberals in the Bay area, but the only way to change the situation is at the ballot box. You are in complete denial if you think any differently about this matter. You know I’m right.
Yesterday I saw someone walk right up my front porch on California Ave. in College Terrace
and steal two Amazon packages. By the time I opened the door she was gone!
I’m glad it was just stuff and she did not come into the house.
Palo Alto is not the safe city it once was!
Yes, we have inequity in this area but i really do not want to be robbed!
@Eileen: please post her picture on NextDoor, so other people can be on the lookout.
Inequity or iniquity?
Iniquity, mostly driving in from twenty miles away.
“Progressive liberals in Sacramento are responsible for this as are the voters who put them in office. Prop 47 makes all these crimes misdemeanors. Don’t ever vote for a progressive liberal again unless you want more of the same”
Quite the screed. You most be a very unhappy bloke with either a cognitive or sense of history issue, as you made a basic error in your post. Just curious: why do you blame the politicos when it was a *VOTER* passed proposition?
Anyhoot, perhaps you’d be happier in a state run by conservatives that tax the working classes to build prisons and give taxcuts to the rich. We know the GOP has given up ever being elected to another statewide office in beautiful California.
/signed
someone who is concern about your well-being… 🙂
@permanent majority….perhaps you should reread my “screed” as I clearly stated the voters are responsible for the passing of the proposition. BTW, a progressive social justice group at Stanford co-authored the legislation and it was pushed by George Mascon and Kamala Harris.
The working class is overtaxed as it is in California. Last time I checked, the state is being run by liberals and progressives in Sacramento. The GOP unfortunately can’t stop stupid.
Posted by What Will They Do Next, a resident of Old Palo Alto
>> Last time I checked, the state is being run by liberals and progressives in Sacramento.
Boy are you wrong about that.
>> The GOP unfortunately can’t stop stupid.
100% correct about that one. Oh, the irony.
But, you may have an actual example, FINALLY, of what you fear. It is the only example I can think of anywhere on the planet, but, here you go:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Chesa-Boudin-son-of-imprisoned-radicals-looks-13533584.php
“a progressive social justice group at Stanford co-authored the legislation and it was pushed by” none other than…
Newt Gingrich, renowned progressive liberal.
/s
Here’s his op-ed: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0917-gingrich-prop–47-criminal-justice-20140917-story.html
“Over-incarceration makes no fiscal sense. California spends $62,396 per prisoner each year, and $10 billion overall, on its corrections system. That is larger than the entire state budget of 12 other states. This expenditure might be worth it if we were safer because of it. But (we’re not…)
Meanwhile, California spends only $9,200 per K-12 student, and the average salary for a new teacher is $41,926. And as California built 22 prisons in 30 years, it built only one public university.”
Newt, the guy who promised you term limits for congress to get your vote and then reneged in implementing his Contract On America, makes the rare good republican fiscal argument.
We need to fix the back half of Prop 47, unless you want to radically raise taxes on working Californians to build even more prisons.
“The GOP unfortunately can’t stop stupid.”
Indeed, we agree. They cannot stop doing the stupid things that put them into a permanent minority status. Time after time. Over and over. Good grief, they even lost ALL four congressional seats in ORANGE COUNTY, the heartland of the sate GOP. John Wayne. Dick Nixon. Ronald Reagan territory.
Wasn’t it a few years ago the the state GOP chairman called his own party “bankrupt”?
Man, that’s gotta leave a mark.
Our fringe far right friend conflates politicians and the voters who passed the proposition by something like a 60-39 whuppin’
Don’t tax workers for new prisons, tax the rich.
Car break ins are at epidemic levels all over the Bay Area. I believe even some Bay Area gangs are now doing the same in the LA area.
It is evident that there is nothing to deter these young thugs from making our lives a misery. The ramifications for those caught are obviously not high enough. The police are obviously looking at car break ins as a low priority. Insurance rates will go through the roof. The body shop glass replacers, etc. must be the only ones doing well from all this. Certainly the rest of us are basically being held hostage because the only advice is don’t leave things in plain sight and make sure to lock all doors and close all windows. That advice does not work as the break ins occur at homes, on driveways, in busy malls and restaurants, and almost anywhere.
Something more has to be done to stop these from happening. Yes, it has happened to me too and a police report was filed. I heard nothing more.
Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
>> Car break ins are at epidemic levels all over the Bay Area.
Agreed. It is definitely the “crime-du-jour”. And now, Palo Alto gets to partake in that wonderful “urban vibrancy” the developers have been promoting.
>> It is evident that there is nothing to deter these young thugs from making our lives a misery. The ramifications for those caught are obviously not high enough.
The ramifications can still be quite high. Apparently, the people doing it believe that the odds of their getting caught are low.
>> The police are obviously looking at car break ins as a low priority. Insurance rates will go through the roof.
Apparently true. This can be fixed. What it takes is political will. SF was making strides in 2019 to ameliorate the huge problem it had. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Attorney-in-San-Francisco-DA-s-office-is-the-13725448.php I have a feeling that is going to change under the new DA.
The number one city for Breaking and Entering is San Francisco congrats progressive liberal Democrats! You as a party have NO EXCUSES with a Super majority you still want to blame Republicans? Does everyone realize that if your car is broken into that you the victim have to prove its locked? If not it’s not a crime? Democrats passed legislation making shoplifting $950 a misdemeanor??? Look at how brazen the criminals are becoming just last night one drove through the Stanford glass doors and stole $30,000 worth of items with no worries. Until Californians wake up and see that Democrats have allowed criminals to prey on their citizens with no consequences (see Kate Stienley and Bambi Larson) god bless their souls. As a 50 year resident and 3rd generation Californian I’m ashamed of my state and will leave the place as many others are already doing. I dont care if your Republican or Democrat whatever is transpiring now isn’t working. As a small business owner just this week I had a homeless person throw a cement block through my window and cause over $4,000 in damage and to top it off for a second time we had another homeless person defecate in our bathroom and smear feces all over the walls. I’m selling my business after 40 years and getting out this no longer is the Palo Alto I knew and loved so sad.
“you still want to blame Republicans?”
More red herrings – who blamed the permanent minority republicans?
“Democrats passed legislation making shoplifting $950 a misdemeanor???”
You want to build and pay for prisons for shoplifters? I’m okay, you just have to admit it. Seriously, what is the GOP’s solution? Can you link to it?
Also: prove your statement – point to the bill (hint – it’s a VOTER approved proposition.)
“Democrats have allowed criminals to prey on their citizens”
Wow, the koolaid….
“I’m ashamed of my state and will leave the place”
Best of luck. I hear Idaho is nice this time of year.
@ Permanent majority,I knew I would be attacked for stating the facts sometimes the truth hurts.All I know is that things have got progressively worse with no end in sight and you conveniently avoided my issues as a business owner is it fair to my employees to clean it up? It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue its who’s in charge and the last I checked it was Democrats for a long time and with a Super majority ? All I want is solutions and all we get is the blame game and no accountability. All the people existing California are high earners check the data the state is being Hollowed out.
I love stories like this. It’s a wonderful reminder that I made the right decision when I left Cali for a place where people believe the cops ought to enforce the law and criminals should be in jail. I like to peak every once in a while to see if you folks have learned anything. Nope–nothing!
Don’t change Palo Alto; you provide an object lesson in stupidity for the rest of America.
” the people existing California are high earners check the data the state is being Hollowed out”
Cool – where’s the data on the folks who are high earners?
Best wishes for your retirement.
Car break ins are an epidemic (Prop 47) but vehicle burglary is PREVENTABLE. Don’t leave cameras, lap tops, cell phones, clothes in your vehicle and you won’t get ripped off. It really is that simple.
This is partially a result of all the anti-police hysteria in the liberal media, including the event the event that happened locally near the trailer park. We even had a columnist on here write an entire article condemning the police.
Cops can’t be perfect but they are doing such an important job, and the assault on police in the media is one more exaxmple of modern-day liberal insanity and its fixation on percieved “racism”. It really is sickening.
Nick you are so wrong.
Yes many people do leave things in their car and/or out of sight.
However, my car was broken into, window smashed and there was nothing at all to take and in the trunk the only thing there were empty grocery bags. I thought I was safe because I had nothing in the car, but that does not stop them breaking in and checking the trunk. Then getting more annoyed when they find that there is nothing to take.
Resident a resident of Midtown … liberal derangement syndrome
I am getting to the point where I no longer feel safe in this city and state. When I go out in the day it looks okay but no longer going out after dark to mail a letter. We now have to worry about people bothering the children, breaking into homes, peeing on the street. And the jail keeps letting people loose who have a track record of chaos. That is my Safeway that had a theft. I am in there about three times a week. The “sanctuary city” rules need to be shut down. We are creating our own mess. The city and county are giving free reign to people who have some type of investment in floating these people. Are the gangs calling up and threatening chaos? There is some type of underlying activity that allows this type of unhinged chaos.
This is one of the many reasons we left Palo Alto.
> Resident 1-Adobe Meadows of Adobe-Meadow
What you said is interesting. I used to go out for long walked in the dead of night or the early morning for fresh brisk air and to avoid traffic, but at this point, who knows who is prowling the streets. I’ve seen and reported to the police strange behavior of cars and people at night like cars that circle around the neighborhood, or people walking around in all black.
While I don’t think this has anything to do with illegal immigration or sanctuary city I am interested in what you say. If an illegal immigrant knew who these robbers and was needed to testify against them, would you expect them to come forward if they knew they were going to be held for an indeterminate time and then deported? That is what SC is meant to prevent.
You said:
>> The city and county are giving free reign to people who have some type of investment
>> in floating these people. Are the gangs calling up and threatening chaos? There is some
>> type of underlying activity that allows this type of unhinged chaos.
This is what fascinates me. Is there any evidence or reporting on such a conspiracy system? What type of organized crime can work at a level like this. I don’t discount it at all, but there should be some solid reason to think about this, or just a valid speculation. Just as we have social networking operating in ways we do not directly see and cannot measure, there could very well be some crime militias causing mischief and mayhem in our cities. How would we even target and fight something like that?
^ Like saying all those flu virus germs must be conspiring to make us all sick.
The best we can do is remove the opportunity. So I’ve stopped breathing.
Book Report – Blue Moon by Lee Child – a Jack Reacher novel currently on the NYT best seller list. Reacher arrives in a town – unnamed in the Midwest – and runs into a very old couple that are being subjected to extortion. So of course he investigates this and finds out that the town is carved into pieces by a Ukrainian gang and a Albanian gang – each with their own form of illegal activity which gets overlooked by the US police via cash payments. He initiates a gang war where each are killing off the other’s people until they finally meet and come to the conclusion that the Russians are now attempting a take over of their lucrative illegal activities. The majority end up dead now believing it is the Russians. No where do they consider that the Police Department or any US element is behind all of this.
That is similar to the Michael Connelly – Bosch series – currently on the NYT best seller list which situates all in the LA area. Since I grew up in LA I am very familiar with all of the locations where these crimes take place.
Robert Crais with his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series – he is a former writer for the TV series Hill Street Blues – LA locations I am very familiar with.
The LAPD has a Gang Department – my Mom worked in the gang department keeping books of who the members are.
Or you can check into the CSI – LA TV series which targets middle east gangs or South American gangs operating in the LA area.
Bottom line is that well established gangs are operating throughout the US, with CA and NY being prime locations where they can disappear based on diversity of the cities. A lot of people, including Hollywood are making money off the gang life and presence in any area. So there is high level international crime and there is low level gangs which terrorize their local areas. And get free passes by the local police who want them to keep a lower profile. But look what is happening – they no longer want a low profile.
Does the SC County have a gang department? Does the city of San Jose have a gang department? There is a gang in east San Jose. Does San Francisco have a gang department? Do we have non-profit groups who promote leniency for these people? There is whole underlying business model in process which requires the assistance of the local police departments to look the other way. All hoping to keep the voters happy.
A new election series is coming up and the voters are not happy. We are having our city now overrun with low level crimes occurring on a regular basis that are attacking our overall safety. And the perps appear to be unafraid of any blowback.
And Hollywood is making a fortune on depicting all of this.
> Resident 1-Adobe Meadows of Adobe-Meadow
Could be, but all that based on Jack Reacher novels and CSI – LA TV series? I was hoping for something a bit more substantive.
Crescent Park – are you reading a daily paper? Try the NYT, try the postings in this set of blogs, try the SFC, try the SJM. I have relatives in Baltimore- killings at highest level. You have to pay attention to what is going on around you. It is reported on a daily basis in the papers.