S.D. Crime Jumps 5.5%; 1st Increase Since 1979

Reversing a recent trend, the number of reported crimes in San Diego jumped 5.5% last year, marking the first increase since 1979, according to police statistics released Thursday.

Senior officers blamed narcotics and the growing influx of undocumented aliens for the rise in reported crime figures, which were led by increases in robbery (17%) and auto theft (14.9%).

“The lack of a meaningful and enforceable federal immigration policy between the United States and Mexico is having a major impact on crime in the city of San Diego,” Assistant Police Chief Bob Burgreen said.

Police are most disturbed by the large increase in robberies, Burgreen said.

“We’re finding a number of very serious robberies going on,” he said. “The same people are committing robbery after robbery. This is a scary crime.”

Other crimes on the increase include burglary and larceny. The number of crimes dropped in several categories: rape, murder and aggravated assault.

Overall, 67,893 crimes in the seven major categories that make up the FBI Crime Index were reported in San Diego last year, compared to 64,366 in 1984.

Burgreen said that police recently conducted a month-long survey of people who were arrested on suspicion of committing residential burglaries and auto thefts. They found that more than 20% of the suspects were illegal aliens.

“We had never done a test like this in the past,” Burgreen said. “We did it because our officers were telling us they were noticing a tremendous increase in terms of these kinds of crimes being done by illegal aliens.

“We were shocked.”

Senior officers identified three types of undocumented aliens who commit crimes in San Diego:

- People who cross the border illegally for a day and use public transportation to travel into San Diego neighborhoods to commit burglaries and thefts. These criminals are often caught selling stolen merchandise in shopping center parking lots and on downtown street corners before taking the San Diego Trolley back to the border.

“These people are making a living off of crime and using Mexico as the base of their operations,” Burgreen said.

- Bandits who rob, rape and murder illegal aliens as they make their way across the border into the United States. Many of the crimes committed by these bandits are not reported, and few cases result in arrests, police said. Last year, the San Diego homicide unit solved only one of nine killings involving illegal aliens.

Burgreen added that police officials are convinced the number of robberies, rapes and homicides along the border would be even higher if it were not for the work of the Police Department’s joint task force with U.S. Border Patrol agents.

“We are protecting aliens in the canyons from being robbed,” Burgreen said. “We are doing that now in spite of the fact we feel it is not the true job of a municipal police agency. But if we don’t do it, who will?”

- People who commit crimes to support themselves or provide transportation as they make their way to work in the agriculture fields of Central California.

Burgreen said that many of the illegal aliens arrested by police are released from jail and do not return for their court appearances.

“We have an extreme problem identifying these people and holding them accountable,” Burgreen said. “If they are released, the next time we hear from them they will have a different name.”

SAN DIEGO CRIME: 1985 Crimes that increased

Crime % Change Robbery 17% Auto theft 14.9% Burglary 7.3% Larceny 2.3%

Crimes that decreased

Crime % Change Rape 14% Murder 6.8% Aggravated assault 2.3%