Weekly Activity Highlights for December 8 - 14, 2013

http://www.ci.arcadia.ca.us/docs/13514518122013weekly_12.8.13.pdf

Residential Burglary Not Just a Daytime Problem

The holiday season traditionally brings more than good cheer - it brings an increase in property crime as well. Residential burglary along the foothill corridor is displayed on this screenshot of our CrimeMapping platform. You can see residential burglary noted from Pasadena to Monrovia in this shot, a good number of crimes occurring near the freeway area. While many of the residential burglary reports indicate daytime hours of occurrence, several of the Arcadia crimes have occurred in the early evening hours through about 8:00 p.m.

Please take a look at our recent APD Blog post on Burglary Prevention at Home for tips and additional information. And, as always, please be our eyes and ears in your neighborhoods. The Department has deployed additional officers specifically targeting residential burglary intervention, both in marked and unmarked units, but you know your neighborhood best. If you See Something, Say Something! 

2013 APD Officer of the Year

(Pictured left to right are Detective Troy Hernandez, Detective Steve Turner, and Chief Bob Guthrie)

Chief Bob Guthrie and Arcadia Police Officers' Association Vice-President Troy Hernandez presented Detective Steve Turner with the 2013 Officer of the Year award at the recent APOA Christmas party. Detective Turner was nominated by several members for his leadership and dedication to the APOA, for his diligent and continuous work as a Crimes-Persons Detective, and his career long commitment to Making a Difference in our organization and community.

Steve started his career with the Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department in 1985 after attending the Rio Hondo Police Academy. He lateraled to APD in 1987 and has worked numerous assignments to include: Traffic and Motor Officer, Field Training Officer, Patrol, and in the Detective Bureau, working a Fraud desk for several years prior to moving to Crimes-Persons assignment for the last three years. In 2006, Steve also received the APD Community Service Ribbon for his work in helping develop and implement our Video Parking Enforcement Program.

Detective Steve Turner is well respected by his peers and supervisors alike. He has served as APOA President over the course of 2013 and has been on the Board of Directors in previous years as well. This award is well deserved!  Congratulations Steve!

Weekly Tip - Help Us Prevent Package Theft

Have you ordered Christmas presents over the phone, via the Internet, or by mail? Chances are that those packages will be delivered straight to your front porch. The majority of deliveries do not require a signature and are generally left at your door, even if no one is home to accept them. This time of year brings out those looking for a crime of opportunity as well as those thieves that actually target your delivery. Thieves will follow or watch for the UPS, Fed Ex or other delivery trucks and then target a home after a delivery is made.

Here are some suggestions for helping to prevent a theft of your packages:

• Use your workplace as the shipping address.
• Track your shipments by phone or on-line so you know what day they should arrive.
• Ask you neighbor to watch for your delivery and then hold the items until you arrive home.
• Keep an eye on your neighborhood and report suspicious persons and vehicles sitting or cruising the area.
• Request a signature delivery option, if available.
• Have the shipment be held at the shipping facility such as a UPS office.
• Utilize a "mailbox" businesses in your town and see if they will accept shipment of your item for a fee.
• If you do not receive your shipment on time, check with the company of origin and confirm the delivery. If the item was delivered and you did not receive it, then report the theft or loss to the original company, the shipping company, and your local police.

Annual Chief's Christmas Breakfast 2013

 (Chief Bob Guthrie is pictured with members of the Vons Management Team)

Chief Bob Guthrie carried out a long standing Arcadia Police Department tradition this morning, hosting the Chief's Annual Christmas Breakfast. The breakfast is a great event where current and former members of APD can gather to share memories and a meal prepared by the Chief and fellow police management staff. In addition to the APD family, all City employees and City staff are invited to attend, along with our elected officials.

There was a great turnout today with well over 250 plates served. A special thanks to Vons Corporation, Nichol's Egg Ranch, and Papa Cantella's for the generous donations of food for the event.

For additional photos, please visit our APD Facebook page.

Coffee with a Cop

We held our 1st Coffee with a Cop event this morning at McDonald's on Foothill Boulevard in Arcadia. From grade school and high school students, to seniors, business folks, and neighbors, there was a steady group of people stopping to say hello. Thank you to all who came and engaged with us!

APD hopes to make this type of event a quarterly function of our Community Outreach Office. CSO Mike Vercillo coordinated the event and can always be reached at 626.821.2648 for any questions about this or other Community Outreach activity.

Thanks again to the staff and management of our local McDonald's located at 143 East Foothill Boulevard, Arcadia, for hosting us!

Take a look at some additional photos on the APD Facebook Page.

Weekly Tip - Wireless Emergency Alerts

Prolonged vibration notification, unusual sounds coming from your cell phone? You may be receiving a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) from an authorized government or public safety agency, the National Weather Service, or from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The types of alerts may include:

• Extreme weather advisories
• Other threatening emergencies in a particular area
• Amber Alerts
• Presidential Alerts during a national emergency

The WEA message will look similar to a text message and will be no longer than 90 characters. Most newer model cellular phones are WEA-capable and are set to receive the WEA message. You do have the ability to opt-out of all alerts other than Presidential Alerts. Consult your cellular phone guide for the individual opt-out procedure.

When a WEA message is sent by the authorized agency, the broadcast area is set and the recipients are based on their location within a given cell provider's coverage area. If your phone is within range of the broadcast area, you will receive the WEA message. These messages are similar to an emergency broadcast message to a given television viewing area. Most major carriers participate in this program and have done so since April 2012. WEA messages are free of charge.

The WEA message is not meant to replace emergency or instant messaging systems in use by public safety, but rather, an additional platform used to reach the community. Nixle and Alert Arcadia, along with our other platforms, will continue to be used. Use of multiple platforms allow us to reach those who may prefer or require simple text messages, phone messages, or more detailed web and email messages via computer or smart phone.

For additional information on the WEA Alerts, please visit the FEMA website: http://www.fema.gov/wireless-emergency-alerts

(Sample WEA message)