The Antelope Valley Times

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Part I crime rate drops 9.35 percent in Palmdale in 2018

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PALMDALE – The city of Palmdale and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have announced a 9.35 percent decrease in the number of Part I crimes reported for all of 2018, resulting in a crime rate of 192 crimes per 10,000 population for the year. It marks the lowest crime rate in Palmdale in nearly a quarter of a century. [View the report here.]

After the crime rate reached 467.71 in 1996, the city set a goal to push the crime rate below 300 by 2009, which proved to be successful. The goal was reset to drive the rate below 200, which was accomplished in 2018.

“Breaking the 200 barrier is great news,” stated Palmdale Mayor Steve Hofbauer. “The partnership with our law enforcement, city staff and our residents working together continues to make our community safer for everyone. We constantly strive for more ways to continue this downward trend.”

When compared to the overall numbers of 2017, crime fell in most categories. Violent crimes against persons (homicide, rape and assault) were down 6.91 percent. Property crimes were down overall by 9.74 percent; burglary was down 16.31 percent; robbery was down 26.15 percent; and arson dropped 31.03 percent. Thefts were down overall by 11.48 percent, with the exception of auto thefts, which were up 15.63 percent and grand theft up 9.66 percent.

There were a total of 3,054 Part 1 crimes in 2018, down from 3,369 in 2017.

“The continued efforts of our community policing, which combine the skills, talents and contributions of our deputies, city staff, and community members working together, are making our community safer,” stated Palmdale Sheriff’s Station Acting Captain Ron Shaffer. “We continue to receive and appreciate the support of our local elected officials.”

“Our City Council continues to make public safety their top priority,” stated Palmdale City Manager Jim Purtee. “It’s reflected in our annual budget and a myriad of community partnerships. We’re seeing the fruits of our efforts and programs through measurable results in the field. We have a lot more work to do, but we are working hard to make sure our residents and business owners feel and know they are living and working in a safe community.”

Partnership with the community has had a positive impact on bringing crime down.

“Our Neighborhood Watch program has brought neighbors, city staff and law enforcement together to help keep crime out of our neighborhoods,” stated Palmdale Public Safety Supervisor Kery German. “There have been many instances where observant neighbors have helped solve or prevent crimes through ‘seeing something and saying something.’”

Palmdale’s Crime Free Multi-Family program, which focuses on apartments and multi-family dwellings, added several new properties, with a common goal to keep them safe and viable for residents.

“This partnership program has really seen our property managers step up with the information they receive from various presentations, safety videos and support from our Palmdale Sheriff deputies,” stated Palmdale’s Crime Prevention Specialist Monica Luna.

“Law enforcement cannot do this alone and it is that true partnership with our residents that have made this decrease in crime possible,” stated Palmdale’s Director of Neighborhood Services Mike Miller. “Code Enforcement and the Neighborhood Compliance Officers have been diligent in patrolling the community and also to responding to reports of code violations and have taken on a huge role with regard to taking corrective action when seeing an issue.”

For more information about Palmdale’s neighborhood services department, call 661-267-5181.

[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]

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19 comments for "Part I crime rate drops 9.35 percent in Palmdale in 2018"

  1. Way to GO Palmdale!!
    Really..i like the percentages per 10,000 ..does that include persons who come out this way for work, leasure ir pleasure..
    Also This only marks Palmdale..So in Between Cities such as Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Little Rock and Phelon is not counted ..Lots happens between the boarders..

    • I just read about the nut Mayor of Lancaster putting cameras on all the streetlights. They must have them in Laguna Beach where he lives and he wants to do the same in Lancaster. How Special is that. The out of control crime rate in Lancaster will need more than cameras as like the Eye in the Sky boondoggle you need personal to monitor the cameras and the joke is nobody is ever doing that. Now that the City of Lancaster has pulled out of East Lancaster it seems like the new Police Chief is way over his head so nothing changes so what a hell hole our Eastside has become. It’s an regional embarrassment.

      • He’s the mayor of Lancaster because voters don’t care to vote him out. 11.2% voter turnout is pitiful. you get he politicians you deserve.

  2. This is BS!. Often times deputies will come to your home and NOT make a report, only suppress the matter. I know for a fact. I was a victim and they only issued a warning to the offender. Hence, no report, no statistic added.

    • Just out of curiosity, were you hoping the deputies would just take your word that you “were a victim” and go shoot whoever you were accusing?

    • Or maybe you were both in an alcohol fueled argument that got a little out of hand, and you both played a part.

  3. >resulting in a crime rate of 192 crimes per 10,000 population for the year.

    That means you have about a 2% chance to be involved in a crime if you live in Palmdale. 2 people in 100, or 1 in 50 will be involved in a crime. How many people live in your block?

    • Let’s compare the statistics for all Cities and unincorperated communities then you will know exactly where is most dangerous in the AV. It’s not Palmdale and that is why we are not hearing about the others as it is getting worse in those other areas. Where are Lancaster’s numbers?

      • Crime stats are easy enough to look up in any city. Anyway, humans manipulate numbers, so that’s where an individual can us common sense. Some people live in fear of being a crime statistic, but maybe something else will kill you while your being fearful. There’s a lot out there that will make you sick, maim you, or take your life. Stress kills.

  4. Can we vote no section 8 in the Antelope Valley and no sex offenders??? We get people here that don’t belong here, yet they only allow free housing for them here not in L.A. or other places where they originally come from. And no, it’s not just Hispanics, it’s all races.

  6. My City does not have a clue and are going to hire a consultant to tell the deputies what to do.

    • I read that Lancaster was hiring someone outside of the Sheriff Dept. to review and report on why the crime rate in Lancaster is so much higher than other cities in the North County Region. We can only hope they can find a solution as it makes our whole AV unsafe. Criminals gotta have victims.

  7. “When compared to the overall numbers of 2017, crime fell in most categories.”

    I wonder if anyone in Palmfail feels safer in 2019.

    • There’s no reason for them to “feel safer” because there was never any good reason for them to “feel unsafe” in the first place. The difference between a “low crime rate” of about 150 and a “high crime rate” of about 250 is really irrelevant, because both those rates mean that your chances of being a crime victim are negligibly small as long as you are an ordinary citizen that isn’t involved in some sort of criminal lifestyle. It can happen, just like getting struck by lightning or having a drunk driver happen to run into YOUR house among the hundred thousand houses they pass by. But we would all be better off if we looked at the propaganda spewed by law enforcement agencies and politicians as the self serving exaggerations that it is and just got on with our lives.

      Good on Palmdale for pushing the rates down, but the paranoids will still be paranoid no matter how low it goes.