Pasadena’s Crime Rate Jumped 11% in 2013

Pasadena’s overall crime rate last year jumped 11% over 2012 in spite of a 40% drop in homicides and a 24% decrease in robberies, the Pasadena Police Dept. reported in a final year-end statistical report.

With the exception of rape, which increased by 27%, all other categories of violent crimes decreased.

The most recent nationwide crime figures reported by the FBI show that violent crimes increased 0.7% in 2012. By contrast, Pasadena’s figures in those categories (murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) actually fell 2.8%.

“We’ve had three homicides this year, only one is anger related. Any loss of life is a tragedy, but when we go down to the numbers such as this, it means that the violence rate is dropping in the city,” Pasadena Police Commander John Perez said.

“We have some very strong visible policing efforts that we’re doing,” Perez added.

The statistics showed large gains in vehicle burglary (up 24%) and theft (also up 24%). Experts like Dr. Gary Potter of the Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Justice Studies caution that big jumps in local statistics can often be misleading.

“Very small increases in real numbers can cause large statistical increases locally, which are usually only temporary,” Potter said.

Pasadena Police Commander Chris Russ said crime increases came primarily in categories over which “victims have some control by not leaving items out in the open or not using alarms in their homes, or leaving back doors unlocked, or windows open. Those types of things.”

The Police Dept. says it recorded 4,343 crimes inside the city in 2013.