Things To Know: San Bruno Crime Numbers Update

The following has been approved for publication:

Marty Medina submitted to City Clerk Carol Bonner four questions related to a September 18th article in Patch, which cited a 17% rise in burglaries in 2012 compared to 2011 numbers. The information was obtained from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports which listed 128 burglaries in 2012  vs. 109 reported in 2011.  

Medina asked and San Bruno Chief of Police Neil Telford responds: 

Q:  What is being done to address the increase in crime?  

Answer:  At the present time, there is not an increase in residential burglaries.  In fact, we are currently experiencing a decrease in this crime.  This was not the case in late 2012, early 2013, when we did see an upswing in residential burglaries, as did other agencies in the county during the same time frame.  

Q:  What percent of the burglars were caught? 

ANSWER:  I don't have a percentage, as very few residential burglars are caught while the crime is in progress.  Most arrests take place after follow up investigation identifies a suspect.  In 2012, the department arrested individuals for burglary.   

Q:  Where is the increase occurring? 

ANSWER:  As stated, there is not an increase at the present time.  When we did experience an increase in late 2012 and early 2013, the increase was primarily occurring in the area west of El Camino to our western border with Pacifica and SSF.  This was the time that other neighboring cities were also experiencing an increase in the same activity.  

Q:  After a burglary is the public being informed in a timely manner?  

ANSWER:  We contact neighbors on a  residential burglary investigation to advise them of the crime and to see if they may have witnessed anything.  As a general rule, we will issue a press release for a residential burglary.  For example, a resident recently awoke to find someone attempting to open a rear door.  We issued a press release to alert the public of the occurrence.  In 2010, when we had a specific problem in a neighborhood, we held a community meeting, used telephone notifications, and went door to door with advisory notices that also contained prevention tips.  This was in addition to media releases. We also utilize Cable TV to help spread prevention tips. 

We were not contacted regarding the Patch article.  If I was, I would have pointed out that crime patterns in San Bruno are fairly consistent and not usually subject to significant variations. More importantly, we are a small enough agency to recognize increases in criminal activity when it happens, and we adjust our resources to address the activity where and when it occurs.  Most of our crime patterns are consistent with other agencies in San Mateo County.  For example, we have a recent  increase in vehicle burglaries around shopping centers, and our neighboring agencies are experiencing similar increases in vehicle break ins in the same type of area.  In these cases, agencies collaborate and share investigative information to attempt and apprehend offenders.  We use a variety of investigative methods to address increases in crime that include increased patrols, crime analysis, collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies, surveillance, use of criminal justice databases, etc.    

In closing, San Bruno crime rates are fairly comparable to what they were ten years ago, with some years up and some years down, but not by a significant percentage. 

We are more than happy to share the statistics with anyone and answer any questions a resident may have.  

Here is the San Bruno Patch article that prompted Police Chief Neil Telford's responses:

FBI: Double-digit Increase in San Bruno Burglaries