Montclair’s crime rates have declined a bit this past month, from 51 to 39 incidents overall. The rates dropped significantly in the 13Y police beat (north of Thornhill) but held relatively steady in the 13Z beat (south of Thornill). Throughout the 94611 zip, there have been fewer burglaries, robberies and assaults too.
In the northern part of Montclair, there were just 12 incidents this past month. Maybe our burglars and thieves decided to take a holiday break, as their hits dropped from 20 to nine (!) during the past 31 days. Although the numbers bounce around monthly, this was still a quieter period.
In the Montclair shopping district and southern reaches, some 27 incidents took place over the past month. Burglaries continued to decline, while thefts and vehicle thefts increased noticeably. There were recent reports of burglars casing places near Skyline Blvd, so neighbors continue to keep watch.
Right now, the Montclair Safety Council is asking for safety priorities to share with the OPD 13Z beat officers. Please email MSIC Chair Nick Vigilante (nvigilante@msn.com) about problems in your neighborhoods, which can be better patrolled or addressed this month.
More info: If you’re curious about your own neck of the woods, then take a look at crime data available through the CrimeView system. You can select crimes, define dates, and enter your address/distance there – give it a try.
Today in Montclair, 94611 
there is an even cooler site called Crimespotting. Uses the same data under a cooperative agreement with the police dept, or something. You can register to ask for notifications of events within a given radius of your home, which is very handy. It’s also a much livelier interface than the OPD’s version. See http://oakland.crimespotting.org for more.