STOCKTON, Calif. — In Stockton, there was a 21% increase in robberies in the last two weeks. Some crimes were even caught on camera in broad daylight.
First, it was a 73-year-old woman attacked next to her own neighborhood store Saturday near West and Hammer lanes.
In another incident, Janeen Martinez was shoved to the ground for her wallet in her own neighborhood.
"In front of a grocery store, in front of your home, at a park, where can we be safe?” Martinez said.
Those were just two of several incidents leading to a 21% increase in robberies city wide in Stockton.
Officer Omer Edhah, spokesperson for Stockton Police Department, said it is a concerning trend.
“In broad daylight, in front of your house, in your neighborhood, where you felt safe your whole life. It’s tragic,” Edhah said.
Stockton Police Department said the robberies have been challenging because they are sporadic. Some were in shopping centers and others in residential areas.
"A lot of it is crime of opportunity,” Edhah said.
The department said they are reassessing where they are deploying officers and trying to increase visibility. They’ve also brought back bike patrols in some areas to increase their presence.
“It is alarming we continue to deploy our officers and special enforcement teams out to specific locations just kind of based on where the crime data is...,” Edhah said.
In the case of the woman robbed at the ATM, one 14-year-old has been arrested but a 15-year-old is still at large. As for the woman robbed in front of her home good Samaritans got her wallet back but the suspect is still on the run.
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