Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety recently released its 2014 crime statistics, and the results show that little has changed.
Although there were slight variances, such as homicide and rape cases decreasing and general theft and robbery increasing, the number of Part I crimes was fairly consistent with 2013 numbers, according to the report.
Part I crimes include homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, four different types of theft, and arson.
Last year, there was only one case of criminal homicide as compared to four cases in 2013. There were 64 cases of aggravated assault in 2014, down from 73 in 2013.
The total number of Part I crimes in 2014 was 2,601, as opposed to 2,574 in 2013. That’s just 27 more crimes, an overall 1 percent increase.
Police Chief Frank Grgurina stressed that a 1 percent increase does not mean the city is on the path to becoming a more dangerous place.
“Overall, the city of Sunnyvale is still recognized as a very safe community,” he said. “Crime is still low in our city, and that’s good news.”
Most of the increase comes from cases of vehicle burglaries, with 610 incidents in 2014 compared to 485 in 2013. Vehicle thefts, however, decreased from 404 in 2013 to 286 in 2014.
Police responded to this spike with increased presence.
“We do focused enforcement, identify patterns, then we’ll put additional enforcement efforts in that area,” Grgurina said.
A string of jewelry robberies in November particularly with Indian-American women as the victims, also contributed to the increase.
“Certain groups of people were being accosted, and gold chains were being ripped off their necks,” Grgurina said. “The good news on that is since that time we haven’t had similar instances of robberies.”
Grgurina says that the community can take measures to reduce crime by protecting themselves, their loved ones and their possessions. Subscribing to police alerts on websites such as Nixle.com and using crime reports and police blotters to notice trends are just a few methods Grgurina recommends members of the community stay aware.
“We want to make people aware so they remember to lock their doors and not leave things in plain view in their cars,” he said. “Contact us when you see something suspicious. It’s important that you call when you see it.”
Grgurina added that it is of utmost importance for residents to get to know their neighbors and know who is living in their neighborhood.
In charts detailing year-end crime reports from 1993 to 2013, both robbery and aggravated assault have dramatically decreased from 105 to 50 and 170 to 70, respectively. Factors such as demographics, number of juveniles in a city and the economy can affect the presence of crime in a city, according to Grgurina.
For more information or to review the 2014 crime report, visit sunnyvale.ca.gov.