Major Crime Up 9.8%, FBI Says : Law enforcement: A surge in robberies and thefts caused the San Gabriel Valley’s crime rate to rise for 1989.

Crimes of violence did not increase greatly in the San Gabriel Valley last year, but crimes for profit--particularly robberies and thefts--soared dramatically, according to a recent report from the FBI.

There were 121 murders here in 1989, five more than the year before. The number of reported rapes--the only category of major crimes to decrease--dropped from 416 to 387, according to the FBI statistics.

On the other hand, thefts--including shoplifting and purse snatching--shot up 12.8%, from 28,218 to 31,821. Robberies became the fastest-growing crime in the San Gabriel Valley, jumping 20.5% to 4,660. And burglaries rose 5.5% last year, with the total of 17,424 marking an increase of about 900 over 1988.

Overall, the tally of major crimes in the region rose 9.8%, outpacing the national increase of about 2%, according to the annual report, “Crime in the United States.” The only valley city not recording an increase in major crime for the year was Alhambra, which went down 1%.

The San Gabriel Valley’s numbers did not include figures from unincorporated communities--including Diamond Bar, which incorporated in 1989--or from cities with populations under 10,000, such as Irwindale, Industry and Bradbury. During the reporting period, the San Gabriel Valley’s population increased about 1%.

“The numbers change so rapidly, it’s hard to say what any of this means,” said Pasadena Police Lt. Gregg Henderson, echoing the sentiments of most law-enforcement agencies around the valley.

His department recorded a 14.9% increase in major crimes in 1989, but Henderson said the tide already has been reversed, and major crime in Pasadena is down 15% through the first five months of 1990. “If I could tell you what causes it, I’d be a millionaire,” he said.

There were other exceptions to last year’s trends. The increase in already high-crime Pomona was only 2.2%, for instance. But the number of murders in the city skyrocketed from 28 to 44--the most homicides in one year for a San Gabriel Valley city.

Pomona, although representing less than 10% of the valley’s population, accounted for more than 36% of the area’s murders. Seven cities--Arcadia, Duarte, Glendora, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena and Temple City--recorded no murders.

In fact, crime in tiny Sierra Madre dropped in all but two categories, rape and theft. Despite the two rapes (up from none last year), the town retained its status as one of the state’s safest places to live. As they did the year before, Sierra Madre police reported the fewest major crimes of any city in Los Angeles County.

Auto thieves, who had turned their trade into the San Gabriel Valley’s fastest-growing crime, finally slowed their pace. Over the previous five years, the number of stolen cars here had risen 96%, from 6,084 in 1984 to 11,896 in 1988. Last year, the number grew just 7%.

“I think everybody just finally recognized the problem and took a real aggressive stance,” said Baldwin Park Lt. Mike Bennett, whose department reported 663 motor vehicle thefts in 1989, nine more than in 1988. “Our level of awareness is much greater.”

Most of the cities with the largest increases in major crime last year were not what might commonly be considered high-crime communities.

Temple City, for instance, logged the sharpest rise, at 33.8%, of any San Gabriel Valley city. Although there were no murders there in 1989 and the number of rapes dropped from four to two, every other category shot up.

Robberies rose 42%, assaults leaped 49%, burglaries were up almost 25% and thefts jumped 36%.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Clyde King of the Temple substation attributed the increases partly to the eastward migration of Asian gangs, such as “Black Dragon,” a band of Vietnamese refugees suspected of dozens of armed robberies in the San Gabriel Valley.

He also pointed to the rising economic level of some other communities under the sheriff’s jurisdiction, such as Duarte, which recorded a 51% increase in burglaries.

“It’s become more of a middle- and upper-income area,” King said. “The burglars are dumb, yes, but not that dumb. They know where the money’s at and where there’s things to steal.”

Another area community that registered a sharp increase in crime was South Pasadena, with a 23.6% increase. Azusa was next with a 23.4% jump, and San Dimas’ crime went up 20.8%.

Again, robberies and thefts were responsible for the bulk of those increases. In South Pasadena, for instance, crime held steady in every category except for theft, which leaped about 65%, from 237 to 390.

South Pasadena Lt. Richard Kowaltschuk said, however, that the problem stemmed from a change in reporting rather than a crime wave. Previously, he said, the department had a separate category of its own for burglaries from autos and did not include them in the theft category. They were told last year by the FBI to begin factoring them in.

“We were sending in the wrong information--that’s our increase,” Kowaltschuk said. “We’re doing it right now.”

Most of the communities that had sharp jumps remained relatively peaceful for their size. Based on computations using the FBI statistics, South Pasadena averaged 35 major crimes per 1,000 residents, compared with the national average of about 57. Temple City had 38 and San Dimas averaged 44.

The entire San Gabriel Valley averaged a bit over 60. At the low end, Sierra Madre had 17 crimes per 1,000 residents, San Marino averaged 25 and Walnut had 30.

On the other end of the scale, Pomona recorded the highest crime rate with an average of 81 incidents per 1,000 residents. Pasadena was second with 79, South El Monte had 78, El Monte had 77 and West Covina finished with 71.

Contributing to Pomona’s high ranking was a staggering number of arsons--421, nearly three times higher than the next closest valley city. West Covina had 151, Pasadena had 76 and El Monte had 53.

Lyn LaRochelle, Pomona Fire Department division chief, said only 75 of Pomona’s arsons involved structures and 56 involved vehicles. The rest were an assortment of dumpsters, fences, signs and bushes that were investigated by the department’s arson unit, which has two full-time officers.

In the FBI’s 1988 crime index, Pomona was reported as having 748 arson fires--a number that would have made the city the arson capital of the country.

But Pomona officials discovered they had sent the FBI incorrect numbers and quickly reported that the actual number of arsons that year was 460.

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY CRIME FOR 1989 City: Alhambra Murder: 6 Rape: 17 Robbery: 220 Assault: 266 Burglary: 971 Theft: 2.071 Total Crime: 4,445 Percent change from 1988: -1 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 60 City: Arcadia Murder: 0 Rape: 12 Robbery: 102 Assault: 110 Burglary: 511 Theft: 1,469 Total Crime: 2,542 Percent change from 1988: +9.6 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 52 City: Azusa Murder: 4 Rape: 13 Robbery: 128 Assault: 108 Burglary: 704 Theft: 1,260 Total Crime: 2,616 Percent change from 1988: +23.4 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 66 City: Baldwin Park Murder: 4 Rape: 20 Robbery: 243 Assault: 269 Burglary: 1,203 Theft: 425 Total Crime: 2,859 Percent change from 1988: +0.8 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 43 City: Claremont Murder: 3 Rape: 9 Robbery: 64 Assault: 58 Burglary: 433 Theft: 943 Total Crime: 1,681 Percent change from 1988: +6.7 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 46 City: Covina Murder: 3 Rape: 6 Robbery: 121 Assault: 138 Burglary: 559 Theft: 1,472 Total Crime: 2,806 Percent change from 1988: +3.1 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 64 City: Duarte Murder: 0 Rape: 6 Robbery: 58 Assault: 156 Burglary: 338 Theft: 422 Total Crime: 1.129 Percent change from 1988: +19.6 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 52 City: El Monte Murder: 10 Rape: 63 Robbery: 592 Assault: 1,105 Burglary: 1,737 Theft: 2,610 Total Crime: 7,535 Percent change from 1988: +12.8 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 77 City: Glendora Murder: 0 Rape: 5 Robbery: 47 Assault: 99 Burglary: 415 Theft: 977 Total Crime: 1,722 Percent change from 1988: +16.5 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 38 City: La Puente Murder: 3 Rape: 9 Robbery: 226 Assault: 430 Burglary: 473 Theft: 740 Total Crime: 2,328 Percent change from 1988: +14 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 65 City: La Verne Murder: 1 Rape: 6 Robbery: 33 Assault: 62 Burglary: 287 Theft: 717 Total Crime: 1,231 Percent change from 1988: +15.7 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 40 City: Monrovia Murder: 1 Rape: 13 Robbery: 108 Assault: 186 Burglary: 522 Theft: 1,062 Total Crime: 2,172 Percent change from 1988: +9 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 62 City: Monterey Park Murder: 3 Rape: 18 Robbery: 255 Assault: 236 Burglary: 721 Theft: 960 Total Crime: 3,096 Percent change from 1988: +1.7 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 49 City: Pasadena Murder: 18 Rape: 39 Robbery: 780 Assault: 1,095 Burglary: 2,215 Theft: 5,234 Total Crime: 10,717 Percent change from 1988: +14.9 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 79 City: Pomona Murder: 44 Rape: 68 Robbery: 809 Assault: 1,227 Burglary: 2,312 Theft: 3,499 Total Crime: 10,053 Percent change from 1988: +2.2 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 81 City: Rosemead Murder: 2 Rape: 14 Robbery: 199 Assault: 444 Burglary: 650 Theft: 944 Total Crime: 2,825 Percent change from 1988: +15.7 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 58 City: San Dimas Murder: 4 Rape: 9 Robbery: 45 Assault: 168 Burglary: 326 Theft: 671 Total Crime: 1,457 Percent change from 1988: +20.8 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 44 City: San Gabriel Murder: 4 Rape: 5 Robbery: 92 Assault: 124 Burglary: 567 Theft: 913 Total Crime: 2.062 Percent change from 1988: +14.2 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 59 City: San Marino Murder: 0 Rape: 1 Robbery: 19 Assault: 10 Burglary: 89 Theft: 210 Total Crime: 358 Percent change from 1988: +13.3 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 25 City: Sierra Madre Murder: 0 Rape: 2 Robbery: 5 Assault: 1 Burglary: 54 Theft: 114 Total Crime: 195 Percent change from 1988: +12.7 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 17 City: South El Monte Murder: 5 Rape: 11 Robbery: 93 Assault: 231 Burglary: 432 Theft: 418 Total Crime: 1,526 Percent change from 1988: +6.5 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 78 City: South Pasadena Murder: 0 Rape: 3 Robbery: 34 Assault: 52 Burglary: 197 Theft: 390 Total Crime: 842 Percent change from 1988: +23.6 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 35 City: Temple City Murder: 0 Rape: 2 Robbery: 37 Assault: 109 Burglary: 338 Theft: 569 Total Crime: 1,214 Percent change from 1988: +33.8 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 38 City: Walnut Murder: 2 Rape: 7 Robbery: 18 Assault: 64 Burglary: 223 Theft: 354 Total Crime: 802 Percent change from 1988: +0.9 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 30 City: West Covina Murder: 4 Rape: 29 Robbery: 332 Assault: 316 Burglary: 1,147 Theft: 3,377 Total Crime: 6,908 Percent change from 1988: +11.9 Crimes per 1,000 residents: 71 City: TOTALS Murder: 121 Rape: 387 Robbery: 4,660 Assault: 7,064 Burglary: 17,424 Theft: 31,821 Total Crime: 75,121 Percent change from 1988: +9.8% Crimes per 1,000 residents: 60 source: FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for 1989 Figures do not include unincorporated communities or cities with populations smaller than 10,000, such as Industry, Irwindale and Bradbury. The total crime figure includes motor vehicle theft and arson, but does not include misdemeanors or narcotics charges.