Pleasant Hill Sees Sharp Drop in Residential Burglaries

Burglaries in Pleasant Hill were down by 44 percent in the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period last year, according to Police Chief John Moore.

There were 55 burglaries through June this year, down from 98 in 2012, Moore told the Pleasant Hill City Council in July as part of the mid-year crime review, as reported by the Contra Costa Times.

The sharp decline in residential burglaries followed the arrest of two suspected burglars  — thought responsible for at least a dozen break-ins and a rash of commercial burglaries — after police searched their homes late last year.

Other findings from the crime review included:

• An increase in calls for service this year over 2012
• A 20 percent decrease in violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery, assault and domestic violence
  
• A drop in property crimes by 7 percent overall
• An increase the number of commercial burglaries from 35 to 59 compared to the first six months of 2012
• Thefts from vehicles are down over last year
• Felony arrests are up 12 percent and misdemeanor arrests are up by 5 percent

Moore said that at least 13 of the commercial burglaries this year can be attributed to three suspects who allegedly stole from lockers at the Irvin Deutscher Family YMCA over the past few months. The suspects were recently arrested and "may have been responsible for similar thefts in Concord, Walnut Creek and San Ramon," said Moore.

On average between 2010 and 2012: 

• There were an average of 157 residential burglaries and 78 commercial burglaries in Pleasant Hill per year
• The city had one murder every other year and two to three rapes per year, according to police records
• Each year, there were an average of 52 robberies and 46 aggravated assaults
• More than one-third of all reported assaults in the city are domestic violence incidents, Moore said