Crime & Safety
Crime In Moraga Decreases For The Third Year In A Row
Assaults and larceny were down in 2013 while rape, burglary and auto theft were up
Crime in Moraga decreased slightly in 2013 for the third straight year.
The total number of reported crimes in the city dropped from 193 in 2012 to 184 last year.
The biggest drop was in larceny, which includes auto burglary, theft and shoplifting.
The number of larceny cases went down from 112 in 2012 to 89 last year.
Many of the larceny cases were auto burglaries.
Moraga Police Chief Bob Priebe said a lot of those happened in parking lots along the Lafayette-Moraga bike trail.
Priebe said car owners should never leave personal items in sight in a car, even something as inexpensive as sunglasses.
He said auto burglars will almost always choose a car that has visible items and it only takes them a few seconds to smash a window and get inside.
Also down last year were assaults, which dropped from 40 two years to 30 in 2013.
However, home and commercial burglaries rose from 29 in 2012 to 40 last year.
In 73 percent of the home burglaries, the intruder got in through an unlocked door or window.
Priebe said residents should never their garage doors open and should also lock their doors even if they are only going to be gone for a short period of time.
"The mindset should be to make it as difficult as possible for someone to break in," said Priebe.
Auto theft also rose, going from 11 in 2012 to 21 last year.
Priebe said auto thefts can increase along with burglaries and other crimes because many criminals steal a car in order to commit other crimes.
The reason is if they need to abandon the vehicle or if a license plate number is witnessed, the car can't be traced back to them.
Forcible rape also increased from one case in 2012 to four incidents in 2013.
Priebe said the majority of rape cases are connected to St. Mary's College. He said his police officers work with the college and its women's center to educate students on sexual assaults and the factors that lead up to them.
In 2013, there were no homicides in Moraga and, for the second straight year, there were no robberies.
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