Cerritos safety committee hears rise in residential burglaries, reports multiple arrests and enforcement steps

Captain Drew of the Cerritos Sheriff's Station told the Cerritos City Safety Committee on Feb. 18 that the station has seen an increase in Part 1 crimes countywide and locally, with residential burglaries the committee’s primary concern.

“Departmentally across the board in the county, an increase in Part 1 crimes, especially in the months of January and February,” Captain Drew said, listing homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and larceny among the categories driving the rise.

The captain said residential burglaries rose after 2020 and that the station recorded 40 residential burglaries in January when attempted break-ins are included; earlier counts had shown about 30 for actual completed break-ins. He said the department’s year-to-date count for March was 10 (year-to-date through the meeting), and added the department believed it had reached a peak and was observing a possible downward trajectory if current enforcement continued.

The department presented a heat map showing most burglaries occurring during daytime hours, roughly between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., when residents are typically away from home. Captain Drew advised residents to “harden targets” and use lighting and cameras to reduce attractiveness to offenders.

Deputies described several recent enforcement successes: a surveillance operation that led to four arrests in an Edgefield Street residential burglary on Jan. 22; use of helicopter support and ground containment after a burglary on the 18000 block of Heather Avenue; and an arrest after a suspect broke a window at the Cerritos Sports Complex. The captain also said the station used facial imagery from a camera in at least one attempt that led to identification of a suspect who is now the subject of an active case.

Traffic and motor units were highlighted for targeted enforcement in areas where deputies observed vehicles with paper plates or excessively tinted windows, which deputies said appear to correlate with patterns of suspicious activity. “Captain Strong has us really hitting the no plates and the tinted windows right now to try to mitigate any kind of people coming down and looking at burglar houses,” a committee member summarized from the presentation.

Committee members and staff discussed technology and program steps aimed at reducing thefts: phase two of the city’s license-plate reader (LPR) rollout is ready to move to installation after the sheriff’s department received the ordered cameras. Installation will require public-works checks for power and obstructions before deployment. A rented mobile LPR cart is being tested at a fixed location for roughly a month and a half to determine whether it reduces crime; if the pilot shows value the city may consider further rentals or purchases. The committee was also told the city approved a $40,000 rebate program for residents’ security cameras, with individual rebates up to $200; launching the rebate offering awaits a backend IT program to support applications.

The committee discussed private security patrols; staff said three private patrols currently operate in Cerritos and that an agenda report for the City Council will outline costs and options for any 24/7 security-patrol contract.

The sheriff’s presentation concluded with staff encouraging residents to report suspicious vehicles, including those with license-plate covers, and to call the station when they observe casing behavior so deputies can respond and run plates.

Ending: Committee members thanked deputies for enforcement efforts and asked staff to return with follow-up data on citation revenue split, video-rebate rollout timing, and results of the mobile LPR pilot.