Crime rate drops in Encinitas

Encinitas residents will be able to sleep better at night knowing that the number of serious crimes committed in the first month of the new year is 15 percent lower than it was last year at this time.

At the end of January the crime rate was 17.7 compared to a rate of 20.9 at the same time last year, according to a city of Encinitas news release. The crime rate is determined by the number of the most serious Part 1 crimes committed per 1,000 people.

“Crime is dropping in the state of California all over,” says San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Theresa Adams-Hydar, who took over as captain a year ago when Capt. Robert Haley retired. Adams-Hydar says there are a number of reasons for the decline such as the ‘three strikes’ law, the aging population and advances in computer technology to gather intelligence and analyze crime trends.

The crime rate in Encinitas would be a lot lower if more residents and visitors had kept their cars, homes and garages locked last month. Of the 89 Part 1 crimes committed in Encinitas last year, the largest number was 57 thefts of items left in unlocked cars or unsecured garages, for example. The second highest number was 16 burglaries.

Adams-Hydar encourages residents to take a more active role in preventing crime by locking their homes and cars and garage doors and paying attention and being more aware of their surroundings. “Everyone needs to know their neighbors and share information,” she advises. “It takes everyone working together to keep crime numbers down,” she says.

The overall decrease in crime is even more significant when one takes into account the influx of as many as 150,000 people to Encinitas during the tourist season. “The deputies handle it like they normally would without any increases in staffing levels,” Adams-Hydar says. Residents need to be more alert and careful especially with the increase in the number of visitors and the increased traffic, she cautions.

For more information about Encinitas crime statistics or crime-prevention strategies such as starting Neighborhood Watch groups, please call (760) 966-3500.