While the good news is that the City of Brentwood is reporting a decline in crime by roughly 12-percent for the first six-months of 2013, a closer look at the crime statistics will highlight that is a result of a decline in Simple Assault and Thefts from Vehicles for the first six months of the year.
According to the statistics, Simple Assault is being reported as being down by 109 incidents for the first six-months of the year when compared to last year which could be attributed to many reasons why the number declined. The other category that skewed the numbers were thefts from vehicles were down 54 incidents.
Remove those two categories and crime has essentially stayed the same—if not actually increased.
Furthermore, arrests are down which is always good news, however, that might be more attributed to the lack of manpower on the streets as Brentwood is currently down around 12-officers and patrols are working overtime as they look to get officers back for a variety of reasons.
Going back a step further, it was reported in April of this year that last year crime actually increased by 17.9 percent. Given the claim of a reduction in crime by 12% for the first 6-months of 2013, crime is still up over the past 18-months by roughly 6%.
While we understand the police department is working very hard and have had some wonderful arrests of burglary rings in the area, the City is taking a risk by not ensuring full staffing while they are down officers.
It is our hope that this Tuesday, based off Councilman Erick Stonebargers request to talk police staffing, the the Council will begin talks about hiring more police and get them on the streets soon.
Below is a look at comparing the first six months of 2012 to 2013–we have gone through and simply given an up or down number to each category while the actual crime statistics are also shown in the images.
Crime Categories
- Murder/Manslaughter: Down -1
- Rape, forcible: Down -1
- Robbery: Down -19
- Arson: Down -4
- Aggravated Assault: Up + 4
- Simple Assault: Down – 109
- Burglary Total: Up + 14
- Residential: Up + 15
- Non-Residential: Down -1
Thefts
- Pocket picking: Up + 6
- Shoplifting: Down – 19
- From vehicle: Down – 56
- Motor vehicle parts: Up + 17
- Bicycles: Up + 1
- From buildings: Up + 22
- From Coin-op Machines: no change
- All other: Down -34
- Total Thefts: Down -12
- Auto Thefts: Up + 6
- Total crime – Part One: Down -111
- Domestic violence: Down -27
- Adult arrested: Down -46
- Juvenile arrested: Down -31
Click to enlarge the statistics
5 comments
most if not all new theft around the Walnut/Balfour area can be attributed to Brentwoods newest criminal ” Rico”… older latino male who portrays himself as a teenager riding kids bike with hoodie. Rico has been caught red handed it two peoples garages, selling drugs at parks etc… the cops are at wits end, they arrest and Martinez lets out. BE WATCHFUL!
What if the 3 cities in the area,Brentwood,Antioch and Oakley pooled their resources together,becoming the tri delta city… thus they would have more manpower for the policing of the area. Of course this is not the answer short term but maybe for the future.
That has merit but I can see it not accepted.
To Brentwood, Welcome to the party, pal!
[…] of a window of time and does not take into account all parts of the crime report and statistics. It should be said, crime is actually on the rise. Last year, Brentwood crime increased 17.9 percent and while crime is considered “down” […]
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