City to Hold Special Meeting on Spike in Burglaries

The city announced Tuesday afternoon it will has scheduled a special community meeting Friday night to talk about the increase in residential burglaries in town over the last few weeks.

There have been nine burglaries and/or burglary attempts over the last two weeks, according to the archived reports from Sierra Madre Patch's police and fire section.  In that time, police have made four arrests stemming from three separate incidents.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

In the message announcement, city officials pointed to AB 109, the realignment of state prisoners to county jails and early release of non-violent offenders as the culprit for the increase in crime:

Sierra Madre is not unique in the increase of Residential Burglaries over the last several months. It is happening all across Los Angeles County. Special Tasks Force Units have been created to combat the problem and our local officers are having to deal with it on a daily basis. The best protection is to secure your home, know your surroundings and neighbors, report suspicious activity immediately, and participate in the Neighborhood Watch Programs.

This increase is likely due to AB109 – also known as the Prisoner Early Release Program. Since the inception of realignment in October 2011 approximately 17,000 prisoners have been released from state prison back to Los Angeles County. There are three populations that have been created under realignment. They fall under the category of non-violent, non-serious or non-sex related offenders. This has led to a spike in “Property Crimes”, the most common is Residential Burglaries. With no jail time known to the offender, the risk of getting caught outways [sic] the chance of going to prison.

For more information on AB109 visit our websitehttp://www.cityofsierramadre.com/i-want-to/find/documents/category/11-police-department-documents?download=878%3Acriminal-justice-realignment-timeline-8-13-2013
This increase is likely due to AB109 – also known as the Prisoner Early Release Program. Since the inception of realignment in October 2011 approximately 17,000 prisoners have been released from state prison back to Los Angeles County. There are three populations that have been created under realignment. They fall under the category of non-violent, non-serious or non-sex related offenders. This has led to a spike in “Property Crimes”, the most common is Residential Burglaries. With no jail time known to the offender, the risk of getting caught outways [sic] the chance of going to prison.
For more information on AB109 visit our websitehttp://www.cityofsierramadre.com/i-want-to/find/documents/category/11-police-department-documents?download=878%3Acriminal-justice-realignment-timeline-8-13-2013