The most prevalent crime in the foothill area is property crime. Residential and vehicle burglaries are two types of crime that frequently occur. Almost everyone knows someone who has been victimized by a burglar.

Most burglaries are committed by drug addicts desperate to support their habit. The goods they steal are sold quickly, sometimes within an hour of the burglary. The crook gets about 10 cents [on] a dollar most of the time. Because of these facts, it is necessary for a burglar to break into several homes every day to support his drug habit.

Once the burglar has succeeded in entering a home, he does not want to stay there long. Most of the burglars try to grab small items that will fetch them money easily and quickly. The typical things a burglar targets are jewelry, small sized electronics, credit cards, check books, cash/coins, video games and guns.

Keep all doors and windows locked and if the home has a security alarm system, always activate the alarm, even if you’re only going to be gone for short time.

For vehicles, auto-burglaries involve smashed windows or other forcible means to gain entry to locked vehicles.

Thefts from vehicles occur at all hours, day and night. All auto-burglaries generally have one thing in common: something to steal, something valuable left in the car. Many auto-burglaries are “crimes of opportunity” – they could have been avoided had simple preventative steps been taken, such as removing items from plain sight.

Auto-burglary prevention, like all crime prevention, involves limiting the criminal’s ability and/or opportunity to commit the crime. With very little time and effort, a huge difference can be made in a person’s vulnerability to auto-burglary. It generally takes a mere few seconds to secure valuables, but it will take only a few seconds more for a thief to break in and steal valuables left in plain sight. Commonly taken items are GPS systems, money/jewelry, cameras, iPODs, cellphones, CD/DVDs, satellite radios, electronic games, computers and sunglasses.

Foothill residents need to be vigilant because the criminals are attracted to La Crescenta and La Cañada Flintridge and the high value targets in homes and in vehicles.     Report all suspicious person(s) or activities to: Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station;

4554 N. Briggs Ave. in La Crescenta. For emergencies, dial 911. For non-emergencies, dial the station business line at (818) 248-3464.

Recent crimes may be viewed at www.crimemapping.com and anonymous crime information may be submitted through CRIME STOPPERS (800) 222-TIPS (84677) or http://lacrimestoppers.org.

–    Capt. Dave Silversparre
CV Sheriff’s Station