By Christian Mignot

Tech-related offenses offer challenges for Los Altos Police

With the proliferation of computer technology over the last few years, the face of crime in Los Altos has slowly changed. While crime rates have remained low and steady for more than a decade, there has been a marked change in the types of crimes committed. New technologies allow police to fight certain crimes effectively, while at the same time new ways to break laws have been discovered and slowly have risen in number.

According to Los Altos Chief of Police Don Johnson, technology-related crimes - such as identity theft, fraud, forgery and embezzlement - are on the rise today, setting an unprecedented trend for the police department to combat.

The Internet boom has encouraged crimes such as fraud and identity theft, which have in turn led to an increase in mail theft. Perpetrators steal credit card applications or other personal documents from mailboxes in order to obtain personal information, such as social security or credit card numbers, which they can then use to embark on spending sprees. The relatively poor security offered by the Internet has made credit card fraud a much easier task.

Most forgery crimes of late are related to check-washing, where special liquids are used to erase portions of checks, once again stolen from mailboxes. Thieves write themselves checks for thousands of dollars.

A comparison of crime figures for the first halves of 2001 and 2002 shows that forgery cases have increased from 11 counts in 2001 to 16 counts in 2002, while fraud cases have grown from 11 counts in 2001 to 17 counts in 2002.

But the picture is not all grim. The implementation of computer technology has led to a reduction in other crimes. For instance, technological advances in security and new police measures have reduced the frequency of bank robberies over the last few years.

Lucy Carlton, Los Altos police chief from August 1991 to September 2001, recalled 1991 was a peak year for bank robberies, with 29 taking place during that time in Los Altos as well as many more in neighboring cities. “During that period there was a large economic downturn,” she said. “It’s usually in periods when the economy is bad that you find an increase in the amount of bank robberies and burglaries.”

Over the last five years, Carlton said, the police department began cracking down on bank robberies, coming up with more effective prevention methods and additional education for the community.

As a result, despite the current economic downturn only five bank robberies have occurred in Los Altos this year, with four of the five cases cleared with convictions already.

“Again, technology has played a large part in the reduced level of bank robberies,” Johnson said. “Not only do all banks now have security cameras and devices intended to foil and trap robbers, but the police also are better trained and organized to deal with robberies. We have devised action plans in the event of bank robberies, giving each officer a set role to play.”

Other crimes more prevalent in the past have gradually shrunk in number. Johnson said narcotics-related crimes and burglaries were more frequent 10 years ago than they are today. The Los Altos Police Department also boasts a proud record with violent crimes such as murder - there have been no homicides in the city for more than nine years.

And although technology-related crimes are growing in number, they make up only a slight proportion of crimes occurring in the city. Most crimes perpetrated today are opportunistic crimes, engendered through the carelessness of locals and perhaps an exaggerated sense of security that people are lulled into by the friendly small-town atmosphere of Los Altos.

“Most thefts occur because people are not careful where they leave their valuables lying around,” Johnson said. “I would say almost 99 percent of thefts from cars occur because car doors are left unlocked, and a great deal of house theft occurs because residents leave garage doors open or front doors unlocked.”

The current police chief said the best way to combat these crimes would be through public education and awareness, which the police department has attempted to instill in residents for years. The police department runs many public education seminars throughout the year.

“One of the reasons Los Altos is so safe is because of the great local community filled with residents always looking out for each other,” he said. “Many neighboring police departments don’t get nearly half the amount of support that we are given.”

Local residents frequently give monetary donations to the police department, as well as support through volunteer work. Johnson cited the police Web site as having received great improvements thanks to volunteers seeking to help the department.

Steve Schaper, a Los Altos resident since 1975, believes the community has been enhanced by the police force and their partnership with locals. “We have a very strong police force, and I think in the last few years there has been a decrease in crime levels,” he said. “Sure, people may complain about mailbox thefts or vandalism every once in a while, but we have to keep those crimes in perspective with what other communities experience.”

Local residents have even become involved in preventing certain crimes. Carlton recalled the city council and police department working closely with professional massage therapists to write an ordinance that would prevent illegitimate massage parlors fronting for prostitution services from spreading into Los Altos when they were cleared out of Palo Alto.

Bay Tree Lane resident Victoria Slichter received a plaque last month for assisting the police department in a mail-fraud sting. Slichter used a piece of “bait” mail in her mailbox which enabled the police to arrest a San Jose man who allegedly stole mail in several cities along the Peninsula, according to Capt. Bob Lacey.

“The police department has to give a lot of credit to the local community for making their job so much easier,” she said. “Los Altos is a community with quality people who are always on the lookout for suspicious behavior.”

In addition to its relationship with the local community, the Los Altos Police Department must also work closely with other law enforcement agencies and neighboring departments.

“A great deal of the crime trends that appear in our city are determined by what happens in other areas and communities, such as Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale,” Johnson said. “It’s obvious that criminals don’t plan their crimes according to city boundaries.”

The police chief said regular meetings are held between local departments and law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes and work together on cases.

These partnerships - along with anticipation of future crime trends, constant retraining of police officers and public education - are the surest way to ensure a continuing low crime rate in the community, Johnson said.

The Los Altos Police Department has scheduled a barbecue for senior citizens on Friday and plans an information session regarding identity theft during the fall.