On 1/18/2012 the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association hosted about 50 community members as Assistant Police Chief, Rikki Goede gave tips and statistics about crime in Willow Glen.
Below are a few of the statistics discussed:
- WG has 1% of all auto theft in San Jose
- WG has 3% of all burglary in San Jose
- The top call for service in WG is that of suspicious persons (That is a good thing- keep calling!)
- In the last 2 years San Jose has cut approx 300 officers from the force
- Today there are 1098 officers in San Jose
Alarm Response Policy
Burglar alarms are no longer going to have officer responses. Statistically, it does not make sense to have police respond to alarms as 98.5% are false alarms. However, if you have a verified alarm, digital alarm or eyewitness to the break in, police will respond. A digital alarm is one with video that you can log in and see inside the home from a remote location.
One community member asked why it is such wide spread knowledge that alarms are not going to be responded to and would that not make thieves more likely to target homes with alarms “knowing they have more time”. The answer was that other cities have implemented the same policy and have not seen a rise in burglaries. The SJPD assured us that they would be watching crime rates and that the reason the information is wide spread about not responding to alarms is the alarm companies themselves have spoken out to the media in an effort to get the police to act.
Safety Tips
- Solicitors DO have to have a permit to go door to door, unless they represent a religion.
- Know your neighbors
- Lock your windows and doors in the home and the car
- Don’t leave garage door openers in any spare cars or in cars in the driveway
- Trim bushes near the front of houses so no one can hide behind them
- Lock the door between your garage and house
- Have motion detectors
- Don’t hide keys to the door (thieves know where to look)
- Call the police on any suspicious activity
- NEVER leave your purse, wallet or personal electronic in the car
- If you have a gun, know how to use it
- Dogs are a deterrent
- Set up a Neighborhood Watch program -Rey Cedeno or Kim Gaddis 408 277-4133
Homeless encampments can no longer be removed by police due to cutbacks and are often referred to the entity that owns the land ie: rail road or water company.
If you wish to call in a neighbor or someone disturbing the peace, you must provide your name and phone number for the police to act. Anonymous calls are no longer enforced because there is no ‘victim’.
Great meeting and hope you find this helpful. Thank you to SJPD and WGNA for putting it together!
