Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving 2013!
The Arcadia Police Department wishes everyone the best on this Thanksgiving 2013! Enjoy a safe holiday with family and friends.
And, a special thanks to all the public safety members at work today - be safe, and know that we are thankful for all of you!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
No Overnight Parking Enforcement Thanksgiving Night
There will be no overnight parking enforcement on Thanksgiving night, Thursday night to Friday morning, November 28-29, 2013. All other parking violations will be enforced.
Parking permits will be required and overnight enforcement will resume on Friday night, November 29, 2013.
Weekly Tip - 'Tis the Season...Don't Become a Victim!
With "Black Friday" upon us, 'tis the season for thieves to be looking for an easy target. Shoppers everywhere will be crowding stores and check-out counters in search of grabbing bargains and deals. But just as you may be shopping for a gift, the bad guys (and gals) may be shopping for your wallet, credit & debit cards, car keys, or your recently purchased treasures. What can you do to help protect yourself?
Start by shopping smart. Always be aware of your surroundings and who is near you. Don't become so engrossed in your shopping or check-out that you fail to see the person sliding up next to you or your cart. Never leave your purse or purchased items unattended in a cart, on a counter, or at a table...not even for "just a minute." Thieves will look for easy targets and persons who may be inattentive to their belongings. That open purse or wallet next to you while you are making your purchase is an invitation for theft.
Be mindful of your personal space. If you are "bumped" on the side or someone just happens to slide up close to you, check your wallet or purse and make sure that you have not become the target of a thief.
Watch your cards! Credit, debit, charge cards are easily "skimmed" by use of portable devices meant to quickly capture your card information. Your information can be later transferred to a magnetic strip on a different card and used for theft. The employee should be sliding your card right in front of you. If there is a need to move to a different register, go with them.
Keep an eye on your accounts. Check your balances and statements often. Watch for any unauthorized activity and report it immediately if discovered.
Don't leave valuable items in your vehicle. Do your best not to use your car as a storage compartment. Thieves will target persons who load up their vehicle and then walk away. Keep any items out of plain sight.
'Tis the season for celebrations, not for becoming the unfortunate victim of theft. Do what you can to help prevent a crime before it happens! Don't become a victim!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Records Section Closed for Thanksgiving Day
The Records Section of the Arcadia Police Department will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2013. The Records Section will reopen at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, November 29, 2013.
The lobby will be accessible for emergency assistance and weekend parking permits from the Topek machine. We will NOT be citing for Overnight Parking on Thanksgiving night. A parking permit is not required Thursday night to Friday morning, November 28-29, 2013. Overnight Parking Enforcement will resume on Friday night and permits will be required.
Please see the following post for daily operating hours in the Records Section:
Monday, November 25, 2013
Huntington Drive and Second Avenue Intersection - Bridge Construction
Bridge Construction to impact traffic at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue beginning December 2013 through April 2014. See Metro notice and www.foothillextension.org for additional information.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
"Grandparent Scam" - Don't Fall Prey to this and other Phone Scams
An old scam that preys primarily on the elderly, sometimes called the "Grandparent Scam", has found its way back to the area. In recent weeks, the Arcadia Police Department has taken a couple of reports on this type of scam, one of which involved an actual transfer of money.
The typical scenario begins with a phone call to an elderly victim. The suspect caller will identity themselves as the victim's grandchild or perhaps ask the victim, "Don't you know who this is?" The suspect will play on the victim's emotions, they may cry or apologize for not calling more often. The suspect will then enter into a sad tale of hardship or say that they have been arrested and are in need of bail. The scammer usually will instruct the victim to go to a local money transfer location and wire or overnight the funds to another location and ask them to keep the event secret from other family members. In some cases, the scammer may have accomplices that will join the suspect during the phone call in attempts to legitimize the request by representing themselves as a police officer or bail agent.
We hope to help prevent this type of crime by providing education and bringing awareness to the topic. No different than in person, always be certain of who you are dealing with when on the telephone. Always verify information and identity. Ask questions that only your actual relative should know. Don't volunteer names or other personal information unless you have initiated the contact. Take the time to verify a legitimate need through other sources such as other relatives or by making independent inquiries yourself, not to a phone number provided by the suspect. Never rush to wire money or send checks via courier. You are likely to lose your cash before you even realize that you have been victimized. These suspects are predators hoping for an emotional response. Let good judgment and reason guide you. Your legitimate loved one would understand and welcome your concern.
Here is a good prevention video on the topic presented by the Redlands Police Department:
Here is a good prevention video on the topic presented by the Redlands Police Department:
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Weekly Tip - Burglary Prevention at Home
Residential burglary prevention continues to be a focus of the Arcadia Police Department. Increased patrol presence, Investigators working surveillance, follow-up on leads/tips, and recovered stolen property, are all pieces to a much larger puzzle when it comes to preventing residential burglaries and property crime. One of the most important pieces to this puzzle is the resident. It is very important to discourage the would be thief and make their job as difficult, time consuming, and as noisy as possible.
Here are a few quick tips to help keep your home safe:
•Close and lock your windows and doors! Thieves look for an easy target.
•Lock your garage door. Thefts from garages are common and it offers ready access to pry tools.
•Keep bushes and shrubs trimmed so that windows and doors are visible.
•Maintain your home and make it looked lived in. Arrange for care if you leave on vacation.
•Don't leave newspapers, mail and door hanger materials in place. Arrange for a trusted friend or neighbor to collect these items for you.
•Know your neighbors! Be familiar with cars, faces and who belongs in your neighborhood.
•Leave different lights on when you leave. Use timers when gone overnight.
•How about a radio with a talk show station tuned in when you are gone?
•Use window stops/pins to prevent windows and sliding doors from being opened.
•Maintain lists of account numbers, valuable item serial numbers and important phone numbers. Duplicate the list and maintain a copy elsewhere. Video or photo your belongings. This aids in property recovery as well as insurance replacement.
•Get an ALARM. Even simple alarms that are not connected to a central system are a deterrent.
•Ask and look for helpful tips. Your local police agency will usually offer home inspections and there are plenty of websites that offer prevention tips and ideas.
•Watch for and REPORT suspicious persons and activity. Most arrests that are made for burglary are not from a report by an alarm company, but rather from a local resident. If you see someone that does not belong in your neighborhood or on a neighbor's property, call the police.
If you return home and believe your home has been burglarized, do not enter the home. Call the police and wait out front. Tell the Dispatcher of your observations and that you have not searched your home. Chances are that the burglar is gone, but you don't want to confront them if avoidable. Entering the home may also destroy certain types of evidence that Officers will be looking for.
Here are a couple of links to sites with prevention tips and information; Crime Doctor and the Burglary Prevention Council. You can also contact the APD Community Outreach Office at (626)574-5174.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Annual Arcadia Chinese Association Appreciation Lunch
A big "Thank You" to members of the Arcadia Police Department came today in the form of an early Thanksgiving lunch, provided by the Arcadia Chinese Association. Chief Guthrie was joined by members of the ACA and ACA President Joanna Liang (to Chief Guthrie's right) for a photo before lunch. ACA President Liang took a moment to express gratitude to members of the Department and say "Thank You" for our service. Thanks to the ACA for the great lunch and for taking the time to honor members of the Arcadia Police Department!
Friday, November 15, 2013
ROAD CLOSURES for the 60th Annual Festival of Bands
Incident: Street Closures for the 60TH
Annual Festival of Bands Parade
Contact:
Watch Commander, (626) 574-5156
Date /
Time of Press Release: November 9, 2013 – 12:00
a.m.
On November 16, 2013, the City of Arcadia is
hosting the 60TH Annual Festival of Bands Parade. Forty high school bands will compete in this
prestigious event. There will be a
number of street closures associated with the event that may affect vehicular
travel. Street closures will be as
follows:
q Baldwin Avenue
between Huntington Drive and Naomi Avenue – CLOSED for vehicular traffic from
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
q Duarte Road between
Golden West and El Monte Avenue – CLOSED of vehicular traffic from 8:00 p.m. to
1:00 p.m.
q Campus Drive between
Santa Anita Avenue and Holly Avenue – CLOSED from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Residents living south of Huntington Drive,
north of Duarte Road, east of Baldwin Avenue, and west of Holly Avenue are
asked to use the intersection of La Cadena Avenue and Huntington Drive as the
primary entrance and exit from the area.
Other residents will be allowed into the surrounding areas with proof of
residency.
Robert T. Guthrie, Chief of Police
By: Bob
Anderson, Lieutenant
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Arcadia Detective Receives International Award for Work with Special Olympics
Arcadia Police Department Detective Wally Ashby was recognized by Special Olympics at the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) for Special Olympics International Conference held in Orlando, Florida, on November 9, 2013. Detective Ashby was nominated by Special Olympics of Southern California (SOSC) for his work and dedication toward multiple fundraising events here in Arcadia. Wally has been responsible for leading the Battle of the Badges fundraisers, local Tip-a-Cop events, helping to organize APD 's participation in the annual LETR, as well as assisting in the SGV Special Olympic Games. Detective Ashby is currently assigned as a Juvenile Detective and is the School Resource Officer for APD. Special Olympics arranged for travel and hosted Wally and his family in Florida for the ceremony.
We are very proud of Detective Ashby's accomplishments and congratulate him on this honor.
We are very proud of Detective Ashby's accomplishments and congratulate him on this honor.
Pictured (left to right) above are: LASD Chief Roberta Abner, LETR Region 7 Coordinator and Board Member SOSC, Detective Wally Ashby, LASD Lieutenant Kim Unland, LETR Director SOSC, Richard Fernandez SOSC, and Brandon Adachi, Volunteers & Special Events Manager SOSC.
Congratulations are also in order for LASD Chief Roberta Abner. Chief Abner was recognized by LETR and inducted into the Richard LaMunyon Hall of Fame for Special Olympics, in honor of her work and dedication to Special Olympics Southern California. https://local.nixle.com/alert/5091348/
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
WANTED - Police Cadet Applicants
The City of Arcadia is currently accepting applications for the part-time position of Police Cadet. The deadline has been extended through November 27, 2013. If you are over 18 years old and are interested in a career in law enforcement, this is a great opportunity! Please visit the City of Arcadia website for additional information, the complete job sheet, and other informative links.
Weekly Tip - Alerts Straight to You from APD!
The Arcadia Police Department News & Information Blog is a great way to stay informed on up to date info from your Police Department. But, we also offer emergency alert, advisory, traffic, and community information that can be sent directly to your cellular phone and email. This service is provided FREE to you and free to local governments (emergency notification) nationwide by Nixle. Nixle is operated in conjunction with NLETS, an international public safety information network providing secure, authenticated messaging.
The information distributed through Nixle is controlled by personnel at the Arcadia Police Department. Notifications or alerts of an emergent nature, community or City information, traffic or road closures, crime information, are just some of the examples of what can be communicated to the residents who subscribe to Nixle. The information can be sent to the entire user group or a specified target area based on locations related to the information. For example, a crime bulletin may be sent to a particular neighborhood or a specified radius, such as within a ¼ mile of the target address or area.
There are two ways to "subscribe" to the Arcadia Police Nixle alerts and notification. In order to receive just emergency alerts, you can text your zip code, 91006 or 91007, to the law enforcement Nixle number of 888777 on your text capable cell phone. You will receive a confirmation text in response letting you know that you are set-up properly. This will work for any zip code so long as the local agency or county is participating in Nixle. You may incur text related charges but that is based upon your personal cellular plan. This type of enrollment limits your notifications to emergency alerts to your cell phone only!
The more complete and informative way to subscribe to our Nixle page is to register on-line at http://local.nixle.com/arcadia-police-department/. By subscribing via the web, you will be able to receive all messages from the Arcadia Police Department. Once you subscribe to the Arcadia Community Wire, there are settings that allow you to select things such as the time of day that you may be notified and also types of notifications you receive. (See below)
(Settings allow you to select types of messages and method of delivery)
(Account allows to you select time of day messages will be sent to your phone)
By using Nixle, the Arcadia Police Department adds another valuable tool that allows us to better communicate and share information with our community. Use of Nixle is in addition to conventional notifications, meetings, bulletins, news releases, and other forms of communication. We look forward to sharing information with you!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Veterans Day 2013
Please join us in honoring and saying thanks to all who have served our Nation. Happy Veterans Day 2013!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Weekly Tip - Shop Smart! Keep an Eye on your Purse and Phone!
Are you an inviting target for a crime of opportunity? In the last few weeks, we have had several unrelated reports of stolen purses and phones from victims who were shopping, or simply not paying attention to their valuables. Phones and wallets have been left on sales counters, along with purses in baby strollers, each have been scenarios for stolen items.
What can you do to help protect yourself? Start by shopping smart. Always be aware of your surroundings and who is near you. Don't become so engrossed in your shopping or check-out that you fail to see the person sliding up next to you or your cart. Never leave your purse or purchased items unattended in a cart, on a counter, or at a table...not even for "just a minute." Thieves will look for easy targets and persons who may be inattentive to their belongings. That open purse or wallet next to you while you are making your purchase is an invitation for theft.
Keep your purse closed. Don't toss wallets and phones back inside without closing the flap or zipper. Check your phones and put them back on your belt, in your pocket, or zipped in the purse. Setting your phone on the counter to continue a sale is an easy way to forget it.
Be mindful of your personal space. If you are "bumped" on the side or someone just happens to slide up close to you, check your wallet or purse and make sure that you have not become the target of a thief.
Watch your cards! Credit, debit, charge cards are easily "skimmed" by use of portable devices meant to quickly capture your card information. Your information can be later transferred to a magnetic strip on a different card and used for theft. The employee should be sliding your card right in front of you. If there is a need to move to a different register, go with them.
Shop smart and pay attention to who is around you! Keep an eye on your valuables and don't invite a crime of opportunity!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Fall Back Tonight! Time for a Change...
Set your clocks back one hour tonight before you go to bed. Officially, the time change is at 2:00 a.m., Sunday, November 3, 2013. Gain an hour of sleep and wake refreshed!
Welcome Everyone to Breeders' Cup 2013
For any public safety and traffic info, please follow @ArcadiaPD on Twitter, hashtag #BC13. For emergency alerts, text 91007 to 888777, or subscribe to the APD messages on Nixle at www.Nixle.com.
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