Coronavirus Update: Fremont Property Crime Jumps 30 Percent During Shelter In Place; Beefed Up Patrols At Schools
FREMONT (CBS SF) -- Fremont police took to social media Sunday, posting photos of increased patrols at shuttered schools that have been targeted by property thieves.
Fremont Police Department said in a release that during the coronavirus shelter-in-place property crimes have risen by 30 percent.
Officers increase patrols at Fremont schools in response to criminals targeting empty campuses. We are asking for area residents to contact us if they see anything suspicious. pic.twitter.com/JawDHaQpvk
— Fremont Police Department (@FremontPD) April 19, 2020
The category with the largest increase is commercial burglary, which is up 133 percent from the same period in 2019, averaging two incidents daily compared to less than one a day at the same time last year. Auto thefts have jumped by 60 percent compared to a year ago.
The department said it was focusing its efforts to addressing those two trends, "implementing new strategies and developing new outreach
efforts to prevent and disrupt these crimes." Efforts had previously been directed at auto burglaries, which had been a problem category before the quarantine order.
Auto burglaries since the shelter order was enacted have dropped by almost half compared to January and February this year, the department said.
Auto break-ins reported since mid-March "have shifted from commercial retail hot spots with high value losses (i.e., laptops) to scattered areas throughout our neighborhoods with minimal losses" such as loose change.
More than 800 complaints about violations of the shelter order were made to the department between March 16 and April 13, an average of
about 28 a day. The department said it prefers to use education to bring violators in line, but has had to issue several warnings. No citations have been issued to violators to date.
There has been no change in the rate of domestic violence reports, the department said.