Gilroy
– An increase in burglary, larceny and arson caused Gilroy’s
major crime rate to rise in 2003, for the first time in a decade.
Despite the 3 percent increase in crime overall, Gilroy saw the
biggest one-year drop in violent crime among four comparable
cities.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – An increase in burglary, larceny and arson caused Gilroy’s major crime rate to rise in 2003, for the first time in a decade. Despite the 3 percent increase in crime overall, Gilroy saw the biggest one-year drop in violent crime among four comparable cities.
Statistics recently released by the Gilroy Police Department put this city in the middle of the pack in most crime comparisons between Hollister, Morgan Hill, Salinas and Watsonville in 2003.
Still, the rate per capita of major crime – which consists of the eight most serious crimes, split into categories of violent crimes and crimes against property – has declined 33 percent overall since 1999.
“I have to look at that and think our overall efforts are working,” Assistant Chief Lanny Brown said.
The city’s violent crime rate – homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – fell 14 percent from 2002 to 2003, to match the state-wide rate. There are roughly six violent crimes per 1,000 people in Gilroy annually.
No other comparable city posted a decline in violent crime in the same period, but only one city – Hollister – had an increase. Violent crime has been a major focus for the GPD, and the tack has been proactive, Brown said.
“It’s a coordinated approach. It’s not just (the Anti-Crime Team’s) job and it’s not just patrol’s job, it’s everybody’s job,” he said. “And as we work the gang issue – even as it’s less observable to the community because they’ve done such a good job of dealing with it over the past five years or so – it’s still very much there. And we’ve got to keep such a focus on it.”
Gilroy, with a population above 46,000, had one homicide in 2003, an increase from 2002, when there were no homicides. The homicide rate for all five cities fluctuates wildly from year to year, except for Morgan Hill, which often has the lowest rate, with zero homicides from 1999 to 2001.
Rapes decreased in Gilroy, from a spike in 2002 of 0.58 per 1,000 general population to a rate of 0.30. Rape did not increase in any of the comparison cities, and only Morgan Hill is below the state rate of 0.27 per 1,000 people.
Gilroy had the largest decrease in robberies of the five cities, down from 69 in 2002 to 48 in 2003.
The only violent crime that did not decrease in Gilroy was aggravated assault, which has not changed since 2001. Hollister was the only city to see an increase, from a rate of 2 to 4 per 1,000, while Watsonville was the only city to see a decrease, of 20 percent. Roughly a quarter of this city’s aggravated assaults involved hands, 70 percent involved a knife or other dangerous weapon, and 4 percent involved a firearm.
Property crime – composed of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson – increased 6 percent between 2002 and 2003, from 32 to 34 per 1,000 people, but was still lower than the rate from 1995 to 1999, which went from 58 to 35. Only Morgan Hill had fewer property crimes, while Salinas and Watsonville had more.
“Property crimes tend to follow the economy: When unemployment goes up and there’s more people out of jobs and there’s less job opportunities, we tend to see the property crimes go up,” Brown said.
Burglary increased in Gilroy, from 4 to 5 per 1,000 general population, but was still lower than all other comparable cities.
Gilroy’s property crime rate seems to work opposite of San Jose, with an increase during the winter months. One theory for that trend, Brown said, is the increase in the number of homeless people in Gilroy when the cold weather shelter opens.
Larceny-theft, which includes shoplifting and other non-violence thefts, increased 8 percent in Gilroy. All five cities in the comparison had more of those crimes than the state overall.
Vehicle theft stayed the same, though it is up slightly from the late 1990s. Hollister was the only city with fewer vehicle thefts.
Gilroy had twice as many arsons – 4 – in 2003 than it did in 2002, although it still had fewer than the other cities. That will change when the 2004 numbers come in, however, because there were numerous arson fires this past summer.
Brown also connected drug addicts to property crime. GPD arrested 341 adults and 15 juveniles for methamphetamine between Jan. 1, 2004 of this year and Thursday.
“They’re typically the ones that are breaking into cars and houses,” he said.
The GPD keeps crime statistics, and documents them consistently, which Brown said will help officers respond to property crimes.
“We always have been proactive in reaching out, engaging, and documenting,” Brown said. “So you can truly keep your finger on the pulse of what crime is going on, what trends are happening.”
The department will look at more frequent reports, including reports from each daily watch, to respond to spikes in property crimes like theft.
“What we do is we start shifting our view or our approach,” Brown said. “We’ll definitely be more in the back residential areas during those crimes, but we’ll also put out more unmarked cars. … You want to give the criminals the feeling that the police are here, but at the same time, you also want to be able to sneak up on the and catch them.”
The Anti-Crime Team, which was formed in the mid-90s to deal with gang-related crime, also is flexible enough to move with those trends.
Gilroy ranks third among the five cities in overall crime, equal to Hollister with 40 crimes per 1,000. Salinas and Watsonville have more crime, while Morgan Hill has less, with 33 crimes per 1,000. The state’s rate is 39.
“Obviously with growth comes more problems, but I believe that the police department is being very proactive with everything from community services to the gang task force,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said. “With everything, they’re trying to stay ahead of the curve and stay proactive instead of reactive.
“We have a police department that is out there in the community, and that is making a difference.”
One example of that proactive attitude is the Gilroy’s arrest rate, which in 2003 far surpassed its comparable cities at 68 arrests per 1,000 people. Watsonville had 52, Hollister 45, Salinas 41, and Morgan Hill had 39.
“That, we directly influenced. That’s a factor of us very much encouraging our officers to be very proactive,” Brown said. “Our feeling is, if people are breaking the law, basically doing things they shouldn’t be doing, it’s our job – we’re the ones who are paid to go out and catch them and hold them accountable, and it starts with the arrest.”
