CRIME UP IN SANTA CLARITA; BURGLARIES, LARCENIES RESPONSIBLE FOR 10% INCREASE.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Crime in the nation's third-safest city increased more than 10 percent in the first three months of the year - entirely because of a climb in the number of burglaries, according to records released Wednesday.

Violent crimes overall in Santa Clarita fell slightly, but burglaries and larcenies jacked up the numbers, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Tim Peters.

A series of apartment break-ins in January in Valencia and Canyon Country contributed to the increase in burglaries, and in many of the cases investigators said the victims had failed to lock their doors or windows.

``They are crimes of opportunity,'' Peters said. ``What we see is that there have been a couple of series where apartment complexes were hit because of an open door or slider.''

Peters suggested some simple home security could cut the burglary rate.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, 240 burglaries were reported, compared to 156 in the first quarter of 1997. Larcenies - thefts that do not involve illegal entry or violence - increased to 457 from 402 last year, the statistics show.

Vehicle burglaries were also up and authorities said that most incidents occurred Saturday nights and Sunday mornings.

``These are also crimes of opportunity because it is caused in part to the victim leaving valuable items exposed to public view,'' Peters said.

Authorities said the increased larceny rate is driven by vehicle burglaries and credit card fraud. Sheriff's deputies are working with merchants and their security officers to curtail these crimes, Peters said.

The FBI has consistently ranked Santa Clarita, with a population about 150,000, among the top five safest midsized cities in the nation. Peters declined to speculate whether the safe-city status makes residents lax in securing their homes.

He did say that steady growth in the Santa Clarita Valley has brought more potential victims - both residential and commercial.

``Over the last three years we've had a big downswing in this type of crime, but we're not overly surprised by the rise - just how much of a rise,'' Peters said.

Peters said it was good news that violent crime did not increase significantly. There were no homicides, though there have been four rapes in the city so far this year compared to three during the same period last year. Robbery fell, as did aggravated assaults. Auto thefts fell 20 percent and arson, 40 percent.

CRIME STATISTICS

Crime increased about 10 percent in Santa Clarita in the first quarter of the year. The following shows the first-quarter statistics compared to those during the same period a year ago.

1997 1998

Rape 3 4

Robbery 18 16

Aggravated assault 159 141

Burglary 156 240

Larceny 402 457

Grand theft auto 114 89

Arson 15 9

TOTAL 868 956

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 

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