Police report small dip in vehicle thefts; detectives may file more cases under new LA County DA policies

At the Dec. 9 Public Safety Commission meeting, Deputy Chief Leiden reported crime trends for November and highlighted two points: a slight drop in vehicle thefts and anticipated changes in case filings tied to policies from the new Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Leiden said the department saw a decrease of four stolen vehicles after vehicle manufacturers issued security updates that addressed vulnerabilities used in a regional auto-theft spike. “It does appear as that update is being made to those vehicles that are vulnerable…it appears that… that program by the manufacturer is working,” Leiden said.

Commissioners asked how the new LA County District Attorney’s policy changes could affect South Pasadena. Leiden said it was too early to predict exact impacts but that the department has observed signals that certain special directives are being rescinded; when those directives are rescinded detectives’ filing packages are likely to include priors and offenses that were previously diverted. “We anticipate filings by our detectives to increase based on alleging priors and then certain offenses that were precluded from formal filing,” he said, and added that patrol activity will continue to enforce the law as written under the Penal Code.

Leiden and staff also described a regional rise in mail thefts and parcel thefts, noting recent arrests in schemes that used glue traps at postal collection points. The department said it is coordinating with the Postal Inspector and other agencies and is using the city’s Flock license-plate camera system to recover vehicles taken for short-term “joyriding.” Staff urged residents to lock vehicles and secure deliveries during the holiday season and said neighborhood-watch messaging will be used to distribute safety tips.

No formal votes were taken on the crime report; commissioners thanked department staff for the report and for ongoing enforcement efforts.