Crime down in Cupertino except for two types of theft - The Mercury News

Last year, Cupertino saw a decrease in all types of burglaries but an increase in auto and identity thefts.

At a community safety forum on April 24 at Quinlan Community Center, Capt. Rich Urena of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office gave an update on crime in the city as well as tips on how residents can keep themselves, their family and their property safe.

“We live in an extremely safe community,” Urena said at the forum. “We don’t see violence, we don’t see assaults, we don’t see robberies.”

In his presentation, Urena said the vast majority of city crime in Cupertino is property crime. He said residential burglary is down 19 percent, commercial burglary is down 10 percent and vehicle burglary is down 8 percent.

However, auto theft has increased by 18 percent and identity theft has increased 25 percent.

Urena stressed to the more than two dozen residents in the audience to always report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.

“Everyone should consider it his or her responsibility to report crime,” he said. “Many criminals target favorite areas and have predictable methods of operation. When you report all the facts about a crime, it helps law enforcement assign officers in the places where crimes are occurring or where they are most likely to occur. In many cases it is the information provided by victims and witnesses that leads to the arrest of a criminal. The sheriff’s office needs the eyes and ears of all residents.”

Urena also gave tips on how residents can keep themselves safe while walking in the city, which included being alert and aware of their surroundings, not being on a cell phone, using “the buddy system” and making eye contact with passersby.

He also advised the audience that Thursday and Fridays are the most common days residential burglaries occur in Cupertino. According to the presentation, 34 percent of all reported residential burglars gained entry through an unlocked window or door, and 23 percent broke a sliding glass door.

Audience members asked questions about what kinds of crimes should be reported, how to deal with suspicious people and calling 911 vs.the non-emergency number.

The second half of the forum was lead by Deputy District Attorney Nahal Iravani-Sani, who spoke about the incidence of hate crimes and a hate crime vs.hate speech.

She said though the state has seen a 10.4 percent increase in hate crimes overall, the increase in Santa Clara County has been much smaller. She said there has only been one hate crime reported in the county this year.

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