Violent crimes down, thefts up

Local violent crimes decreased in 2010, while the number of thefts increased slightly in Burbank and Glendale, according to preliminary crime reports from the FBI — a trend police officials say could be harder to stymie because of the court-mandated early release of thousands of state prisoners.

The declining trend for violent offenses reflects similar decreases throughout the nation, according to the FBI report released this week.

While property crimes decreased nationally, theft-related offenses in Burbank climbed from 2,663 in 2009 to 2,687 in 2010.

Thefts in Burbank also increased from 1,829 in 2009 to 1,933 in 2010, while burglaries saw a small decline from 499 in 2009 to 478 in 2010.

Similar decreases occurred in the number of vehicle thefts and arson.

Fewer vehicle thefts were also reported in Glendale in 2010.

While property crimes dropped from 3,755 in 2009 to 3,717 in Glendale last year, thefts were up from 2,723 in 2009 to 2,747.

Burglaries also increased from 635 in 2009 to 642 last year.

Still, the slight decrease in property crimes may be short-lived with the pending early release of 30,000 California prison inmates, Glendale Police Ron De Pompa said.

“This will be the hardest line for us to hold in the next year,” he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered California prisons to reduce its inmate population due to overcrowding.

“We know that is going to have impact on property crime, and it has,” De Pompa said.