By Mary O’KEEFE

At the Oct. 15 Crescenta Valley Town Council monthly meeting Capt. Dave Silversparre of the CV Sheriff’s Station presented up-to-date crime statistics for the unincorporated area of La Crescenta. The numbers support what sheriffs have been stating: crime comes in waves.

Larceny-theft peeked in July with 25 reports, in August it fell to 13, then saw a slight climb in September to 17. Burglaries peaked in March with 13, then took a dive in April with only one burglary reported. Vandalism and narcotics numbers also fluctuated with the highest, 10 narcotic arrests, in April leading to a total of 51 narcotic arrests for the year-to-date. There were 64 total narcotics arrests in 2008 and a year total of 46 in 2007.  Larceny-theft refers to when a suspect, without the use of force or fear, steals items.  That could mean a theft of an iPod that was left on a table at a coffee shop, an item stolen from a front yard or out of an unlocked vehicle.

California Highway Patrol Officer Andre Primeaux also reported to the council on his jurisdiction area within the Altadena office.

“We have seen an increase in citations for drivers on cellphones,” Primeaux said.

The California law banning driving while holding a cellphone went into affect on July 1, 2008. Shortly after that traffic law enforcement officers, like Primeaux and Sgt. Mark Slater of the CV Sheriff’s Station, said they had noticed drivers taking the law seriously.

“From July (2008) to December we issued 90 citations,” Primeaux said of his patrol area.

However as the spotlight on the new law faded it appears many drivers have gone back to old habits. Those drivers include California’s First Lady Maria Shriver who was recently cited for violating the hands-free law.

“We have issued 340 citations from January to September 2009,” he added.

The recent rains saw an increase in traffic collisions.  On Oct. 13, there were 10 traffic collisions reported and investigated in the Altadena area jurisdiction and on Oct. 14 there were 39.

“The overwhelming primary collision factor for most of the accidents were drivers violating section 22350 CVC- ‘Unsafe Speed for Weather and Roadway Conditions,’” Primeaux said.

The CHP officer also announced that he has been transferred to another CHP office and therefore would no longer be the Crescenta Valley CHP liaison.  His replacement has yet to be announced.

“We really hate to hear that Andre is leaving us. He has been so helpful and supportive,” said Steve Pierce, president of CV Town Council.