Orinda Police Notes: Chief Says Department Will Focus On Burglaries

There is going to be a shift in priorities in the coming months for Orinda police officers.

Orinda Police Chief Scott Haggard told the City Council on Tuesday night that his focus in the immediate future will be on burglaries.

Haggard said overall crime is down this year in Orinda. Grand theft has dropped by 46 percent while petty theft is 32 percent lower.

Commercial burglaries are down 30 percent while auto burglaries are about the same.

Home burglaries, however, have risen from 56 last year to 90 so far this year.

Haggard said one reason is the early release of prisoners from California's overcrowded jails. The chief said studies have shown a correlation between the rise in crimes such as burglary and the early release program.

Haggard said he plans to shift an officer from traffic patrol to preventing crimes, in particular burglaries.

The chief said his department is cautioning residents to make sure they lock their doors and set their burglar alarms, even if they are going to be away from home for a short time.

He said two burglaries have been recently foiled because of activated alarms.

An Orinda resident who spoke after the chief's presentation backed up his warning.

She said she went to downtown Orinda without setting her home alarm for one hour earlier this year and returned to find her house had been broken into in that short time span.

She said the burglar had chipped away at the wall to get into her safe and stole important financial papers and other items.

Ironically, the Orinda police department reported no burglaries in the past week.

They said there were three petty thefts, one on the 100 block of Sleepy Hollow and two on Sycamore Road. All three involved unlocked vehicles.

Two grand thefts were reported, one in the 600 block of Miner Road involving an unlocked vehicle and another in the 80 block of Muth Drive.

One auto burglary was reported. It occurred on Ivy Drive.