No clear consensus on local crime trends since pandemic
As the coronavirus crisis enters the month of May, some local police agencies are seeing a decrease in criminal activity, while one law enforcement agency has not seen much of a change.
Calexico Police Chief Gonzalo Gerardo said in the last 40 days commercial burglaries in his city increased by 15 percent, partly for the reason that perpetrators see the closed business as easier targets for a crash and grab than residences, where people are abiding by the state’s and county’s stay-at-home orders.
The CPD chief explained that part of the reason for the increase is the criminals know that in most cases, even if they are apprehended, they will be cited but kept in jail during the pandemic. This results in some of them committing the same crime repeatedly.
Gerardo said in these instances, a repeat offender could face enhanced penalties if convicted after the pandemic ends.
“They are going to pay for it, but right now they are blatantly doing it,” Gerardo said.
Auto thefts in Calexico are down by a little less than 20 percent. Gerardo attributed the decline to the same reason why home burglaries are down. Residents are home and are becoming more aware.
He said domestic disputes, which mostly are arguments in Calexico increased a little, though many of them are civil and child custody disputes. Some parents are concerned their children could catch the virus if their kids lived with someone else, he said.
Gerardo said parents usually will be asked to work something out, but if no agreement is reached, police will enforce the court order,
In addition to people getting on the nerves of one another, children and teenagers act out because they are getting tired of staying at home.
On Thursday, Calexico police were called to a home where a woman told them a man had slapped her, but the alleged assailant had already left the residence. Police are still looking for the man, who might have crossed the border.
Because of the stay-athome order, children who are suffering from physical abuse could face more abuse, he said.
“This is going to happen.” Gerardo said, adding a lot of things have changed recently.
“Banks would call 911 for a robbery in progress when they saw a person wearing a mask,” he said. “Now, they call 911 for a person not wearing a mask.”
As of Friday, Calexico had 99 positive COVID-19 cases, so Gerardo wants the city to be careful when it begins to talk about reopening.
Imperial County Sheriff Chief Deputy Robert Benavidez said crime overall has reduced for the Sheriff’s Office.
While property-related crimes are down, domestic violence disputes have increased by about 10 percent.
In a normal month the Sheriff’s Office responds to 3,400 to 3,500 calls and traffic stops, he said. That had decreased to 1,500 in April.
“Right now we are down by more than 50 percent of calls for service, Benavidez said. “Our community has been good at adhering to the stay-at-home order.”
Brawley Interim Police Chief Scott Sheppeard said that city has seen an overall reduction in crime since the beginning of the stay-at-home order.
“When we compare the first month of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order to the prior month, our calls for service decreased by about 16 percent,” he said. “Our most common call for service last month was disturbances, of which, we had a slight increase. “
The Brawley Police Department also saw an increase in thefts from motor vehicles as well as suspicious calls.
Domestic violence calls also had a slight increase during the first four weeks of the stay at home order, going from five to seven calls.
Imperial Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Max Sheffield said the current trends show that crime has not gone up nor down in his city.
The increased calls for service are domestic violence or family arguments.
“With the current restrictions at the Imperial County Jail, we have had an uprising in citing and releasing individuals.” Sheffield said. “We are still able to book all felonious crimes at this time.’
IPD thus far has not adjusted the number of its officers patrolling the city,” he said.
“We have been able to maintain the safety and security of our community with the current number of officers we have,” he said. “The Imperial Police Department wants the citizens of Imperial to know that we are all in this together and the safety and well-being of everyone is and will always remain our No. 1 priority.”
El Centro Police Patrol Commander Ray Bonillas chose not to comment because the department data had yet to be completed. However, the Chief Brian Johnson did note a recent uptick in domestic violence cases when reporting to the City Council’s special session on Friday.
The department reinforced that observation by posting for following message on its Facebook page Friday evening: “The El Centro Police Department would like to take the time inform our community that there has been a measurable rise in domestic disturbances and domestic violence cases. We understand the ‘stay at home’ order and other issues with COVID-19 weigh heavily on our families. Domestic violence is a pandemic within a pandemic. Services remain open for those in need.”