Crime numbers in review: 2022

BPD rolls up the prior year in local crime each January and we dutifully report it to you.  All in all, it appears that 2022 was pretty much the same as the last couple of years with the exception of catalytic converter thefts which are on a steep trajectory upwards.  We touched on the topic in March here.  In the comments on that post, you can read about CATGUARD.  I'll check on whether B'game is thinking about it like San Mateo and update this.

My guess is porch pirate thefts are seriously underreported to BPD.  Just looking at the Ring camera footage from nearby neighborhoods, two per month seems low.  Remember that all of these numbers are monthly - so we had 36 residential burglaries reported in 2022, 288 stolen vehicles, and so on down the list.

Monthly Average                        2016    2017    2018    2019      2020    2021    2022

Residential Burglaries                   5        2            3        3          2            2        3

Vehicle Burglaries                      23      25        21       39         20         25       24

     Thefts from Unlocked Vehicles                              -          14            8        5

Commercial Burglaries                  9      4            5        4            6            5        5

     Construction site theft                                             -           1            1        1

     Package thefts                                                        -            4            2        2

Other Thefts                               60      51        56        61          -             -        -

Catalytic Converter Theft                                                          6            9        11

Robberies                                    1        1          1         2           2             2        1       

Stolen Vehicles                            9         6        4            6         9             7        8

Vandalism                                  13    13          11       12          13           13        13

 

Not reported in these statistics is the traffic enforcement trends.  Purely anecdotally, as noted here, we need more traffic enforcement.  Watching people speed up 40 yards from a yellow light and blast through the red is a daily occurrence.  I would love to see BPD be funded to add at least two more officers dedicated to this.  

Comments

[Handle Bard]

I know someone who had this happen to them and they got two really good e-bikes

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/garage-burglaries-bikes-17729119.php

Police in Marin County are investigating a string of garage burglaries in which thieves use improvised tools to swipe high-end bicycles — a crime pattern that’s also surging in San Francisco.

In the course of roughly six weeks, residents of Corte Madera, Larkspur and San Anselmo reported 10 break-ins with similar elements: After casing a neighborhood, a perpetrator walked up to a garage door with a clear glass panel, punctured a hole in the glass and then deployed a rod and hook to grab the emergency cord and pull the door open.

[resident]

Will Brownrigg be investigating how secure Biden's Corvette garage is? Was?

[resident]

What is Brownrigg's threat assessment of a US Senator holding Top Secret documents for years that he was not allowed to take out of a secure facility? When will the next letter to the Daily Journal appear to answer these important questions?

In case you have forgotten please review Brownrigg's statement

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/national-security-is-a-dangerous-job/article_1ef65918-229a-11ed-b024-f742c0548f8a.html

[MBGA]

That's (D)ifferent.

[Joe]

The moving citations for 2022 will take another couple of weeks to assemble, but here is the historical data:

Moving Citations Issued
2016: 3,341
2017: 2,615
2018: 2,448
2019: 3,234
2020: 1,421
2021: 2,264

You can clearly see the effects of Covid lockdowns and work at home policies. Even so, 2021 saw nearly 200 moving violations cited per month!

[Guido]

At least we aren't as screwed up as Seattle

The city of Seattle is suing Kia and Hyundai, arguing the company did not take adequate anti-theft measures to prevent its cars from being stolen.

“Kia and Hyundai chose to cut corners and cut costs at the expense of their customers and the public," Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said in a statement. "As a result, our police force has had to tackle a huge rise in vehicle theft and related problems with already stretched resources. Now Seattle taxpayers must shoulder the burden of the increase in theft. Kia and Hyundai need to take responsibility for the public safety hazard that they created.”

According to the City Attorney's Office, Seattle saw a 363% increase in the theft of Kias, and a 503% increase in the thefts of Hyundais between 2021 and 2022. KUOW previously reported that 80 cars were stolen each day, on average, throughout King and Pierce counties in November 2022.

Kia and Hyundai models are vulnerable to a specific type of car theft. Using a simple USB cable, a person can access the ignition and turn the cars on. Instructions on how to do this have spread far and wide on the internet, leading to a rise in thefts of such cars nationally. The Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force has noted that 2011 or newer Kias, or a 2015 or newer Hyundais are particularly at risk. Kia and Hyundai have said that models after 2022 have included a fix to this issue.

[Joe]

It seems a number of citizens are unaware of a feature enabled on the City's website that allows one to see a "crime map" and arrest records on-line.

You can find it here: https://brm.crimegraphics.com/2013/default.aspx

My preference is to receive an email every day with the latest events. If you go to the link and look lower left side, you will see a Sign-up button. You're welcome.

[Joe]

Another spree:

5/11/2023 18:35-18:45 5/11/2023 18:49 Burglary Burglary:second degree - From motor vehicle (F) Felony 1200 Block of DONNELLY AV, Burlingame

5/11/2023 19:04-19:04 5/11/2023 19:06 Burglary Burglary:second degree - From motor vehicle (F) Felony 1200 Block of DONNELLY AV, Burlingame

5/11/2023 19:06 Burglary Burglary:second degree - From motor vehicle (F) Felony 1200 Block of DONNELLY AV, Burlingame

[Mom]

Can anyone explain why Amazon drivers are too STUPID to leave packages out of sight from the street when that is easy to do? Is this some sort of company policy? Are they secretly helping porch pirates?

[Joe]

Here is a bit of useful advice from the Comicle regarding auto burglaries:

Police department spokespersons in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose said they were aware of incidents in which thieves used their phones to locate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals emanating from laptops, tablets or other devices in vehicles.

This may help explain why, even if people take necessary precautions to hide their valuables from thieves — such as tinting their windows or stashing their electronics out-of-sight — they still could be the victim of a smash-and-grab.

Any smartphone can scan for Bluetooth signals, which means that if a phone is close enough to someone’s stashed cell phone, iPad or laptop, thieves who walk up to a car can detect its presence in just a matter of seconds, said Rob Enderle, a technology analyst and consultant.

Some thieves also opt for higher-tech tools, such as radio scanners or specialized applications downloaded from the dark web that can unlock cars in a matter of clicks.

In situations where electronics have to be stored, turning Bluetooth off or powering down the device entirely can help prevent a device from being detected remotely.

Simply closing a laptop isn’t enough: it’ll go into suspend or sleep mode, which could still send out a Bluetooth signal, said Enderle.
-----------
There you have it. Leaving anything valuable in your car is crazy but if you must for some unknown reason, turn it all the way off.

[Joe]

I wish the Comicle's website weren't such a mess so I could just paste some things from the FRONT PAGE article today, but alas it is nowhere to be found.

The gist of it was apparent reporter amazement that tripling down on police action (a "blitz") over car break-ins (bait cars, more patrols) and more prosecution (Jennings vs Boudin) including actually holding some in custody (what a concept!) would cause a year over year decline in break-ins of 49%. Yep. Cut in half.

EssEff still had 3,399 smash-and-grabs from Sept 1 to Nov 26th, but that just shows you how bad it had gotten.