STOCKTON, Calif. — For 2018, the city of Stockton saw an increase of 557 crimes that involved theft.
The city's Uniform Crime Statistics report included the following numbers for theft in 2018:
- Robbery - 1,205
- Burglary - 2,329
- Larceny - 7,415
- Car theft - 2,045
While there were less larceny and car theft cases in 2017, there were more robbery and burglary cases:
- Robbery - 1,208
- Burglary - 2,140
- Larceny - 7,040
- Car theft - 2,049
When looking at the previous five years, the spike in crime we see in 2018 is just a small spike in an overall decrease in reported theft crimes. Back in 2014, the number of total theft crimes was nearly nine percent higher, totaling 14,246 theft crimes.
Stockton Police Officer Joe Silva confirmed that the four types of theft handled by Stockton Police are defined as:
- Robbery: This is the only type of theft that is considered a violent crime; the rest are considered property crimes. This is when a person steals from another person using force or the threat of force.
- Burglary: Whenever someone steals something from inside another person's property.
- Larceny: This type of theft includes all forms of petty theft and grand theft. This includes when someone steals a bike from the street, an item from a store or a package from a house.
- Car theft: In police records, this kind of theft is referred to as motor-vehicle theft. This is only when a thief steals a person's car. If a person steals items from the car, then that type of theft would be burglary.
Silva shared two tips that could help people prevent themselves from being victims of theft:
1. Lock up your valuables
Try not to keep your valuable items near the window or easily visible from the window.
2. Don't leave your car running
Silva said Stockton police officers often see cases where people turn-on their car, leave it and then come back to find their car has gone missing.
He added that in one week, they had two cases where the driver left the car running and left young children in the backseat. In both cases, the children were found after the car was stolen.
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