CRIME DIPS 6.5 PERCENT IN '03 MAJOR CRIME FALLS, BUT AUTO THEFT SHOWS INCREASE.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

GLENDALE - The overall crime rate in Glendale fell 6.5 percent in 2003, assisted largely by a 26.7 percent plunge in violent crime, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Police Department.

Rates in all major crime categories, including robbery, burglary and theft, dropped in 2003, except for vehicle theft, which increased 7.9 percent, with 58 cars being reported stolen.

``The department does a great job in terms of keeping the city safe,'' said Councilman Rafi Manoukian. ``Even though we are leanly staffed, we are one of the lower-crime cities around.''

Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said he is proud of the department's crime-fighting record in 2003 but is still concerned that auto thefts and other minor crimes not spin out of control.

``As effective as they have been in reducing serious crime, we have seen a very concerning rise in the underlying minor crimes in the city,'' Adams said.

The department has already assigned one full-time officer to a regional auto-theft task force to help combat the city's rise in auto thefts.

Identity theft, for example, jumped from 23 offenses in 2000 to 553 in 2003, and 902 incidents of fraud, forgery and embezzlement occurred in the city in 2003 - 255 more than in 2002.

``Our concern is these crimes will begin to fuel more serious crime if we aren't able to marshal additional resources to combat it,'' Adams said. ``I don't want to see the rest of the Part I category to spike like vehicle theft.''

In an effort to curbing the increase in those crime categories, Adams urged city officials in January to increase his department's staffing despite a tight budget.

Glendale, the third most populated city in Los Angeles County, has a staffing ratio of 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, while neighboring cities have nearly 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, Adams said.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com