police

This Year's Pancake Breakfast a Big Success

Like in years past, this year’s GOCHA Pancake Breakfast was a big success. On Sunday, September 27th about 150 canyon residents came to enjoy some delicious food and hang out with neighbors at Glenoaks Park. We also had a good turnout from the Glendale Fire and Police Departments including our new Chief of Police Robert Castro.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who manned the griddle, set the tables, and helped clean up the event. Our canyon is a very special place and it’s things like the annual Pancake Breakfast that brings our residents together to hang out, have some fun, and enjoy our beautiful canyon.

See below for a photo gallery from the event.

Tonight is National Night Out

Come out and join your neighbors and the entire country as we celebrate the annual National Night Out. Like last year, come on down to the Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park from 6pm - 7:30pm and celebrate the evening with our canyon residents, artists, designers, collectors, and hobbyists. Refreshments will be served while they last and there will be a succulent plant swap along with a raffle supporting both local businesses and your neighborhood watch. It should be a fun night for everyone.

national night out

Neighborhood Watch Update Meeting with Officer Sue Shine

The Glendale Police Department will be hosting a Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Watch Update Meeting at Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park on Monday, October 14, 2013 beginning at 6:30PM. Our Area Commander, Tim Feeley will join us and provide his insight on trends and answer questions.

You may RSVP to Officer Shine at:sshine@ci.glendale.ca.us

A Big Thank You to the Firefighters Who Battled Friday's Fire

On behalf of all of us living in Glenoaks and Chevy Chase Canyons, I would like to thank all the brave firefighters, helicopter pilots, police, and other service personnel that so efficiently and effectively put out Friday's fire. They did an incredible job and it was truly enlightening watching their efforts in saving our homes and keeping all of us safe.  

Mail Thefts Still a Cause for Concern

Although a majority of the thefts have been in Chevy Chase Canyon, it is still important for us to be aware and vigilant as well.

For many months, we have been experiencing late night thefts from mailboxes in the Chevy Chase Canyon area. The mailboxes are at the curb and the area is more remote and, therefore was targeted regularly along with adjoining areas in La Canada and La Crescenta. This trend has widened and now Glendale PD is receiving reports of thefts of mail in boxes attached to homes as far west as Valley View. Some apartment buildings are victims as crooks make entry into the lobby and the boxes as well. What the thieves are seeking is a means to steal your identity. This information is more accessible than you think. Every credit card application and those weekly blank checks to the accounts you do have sent to you are easy to complete and with a little more digging, they can get all kinds of things shipped to them at your expense.

  • Please alert neighbors to the activity and notify apartment managers
  • If there are folks on your street that keep later hours, let them know in order to have eyes out for suspicious cars late at night
  • Retrieve your mail as soon as practical and do the same for neighbors if you have opposing schedules
  • Locking mailboxes may deter some theft, but some crooks carry pry tools.
  • Remember to remove any package deliveries from the porch immediately and do the same for neighbors

The USPS has an 800 number on their website to report mail theft. If, however, you witness suspicious behavior or are certain of a theft, inform the Post Office, but also report it with the Glendale Police Department (818) 548-4841 to request an officer respond to take a report, if a crime has been committed. The Glendale police have been actively stopping and searching suspicious vehicles and pedestrians and have made a recent arrest of a prolific mail thief with prior arrests for the same behavior. Patrol officers have been alerted to the trend and will continue to be vigilant.

As with all criminal behavior, it is best to report all suspicious activity and continue to remove opportunity from the thieves. Remove items from your car and lock it. Illuminate your home and make it a hard target. Don’t be so distracted by your shopping to be careless. Watch where you are walking to and from and make eye contact with all you encounter. Don’t act like a victim and it is much less likely you will be a victim!

Have  safe and happy holidays!

Neighborhood Watch Training and Info Session Tuesday 8/21

There will be a Neighborhood Watch training and information session next Tuesday, August 21 from 6:30 to 8:00pm at the Joe Bridges Clubhouse in Glenoaks Park. Everyone is welcome to attend. Officer Sue Shine of the Glendale Police Department will be presenting information that will help make our community safer and an even nicer place to live.

Reminder: National Night Out Tuesday

Come join your neighbors Tuesday night for National Night Out at Glenoaks Park from 6-8pm. Enjoy a nice warm summer night with other families from the canyon along with representatives from the Glendale police and fire departments. And...free ice cream.

See you there.

New Glendale Crime Trends Bulletin

The Glendale Police Department has begun putting out a regular bulletin outlining some of the crime trends going on in our city. Glendale Police Chief Ron DePampa (rdepompa@ci.glendale.ca.us) attributes the increased crime in the city to the release of "realigned" felons into the community. These felons are considered by the state to be lowrisk offenders: non-violent, non-serious, and non-high risk sex offenders. But, the reality is that these felons are also career criminals: five felony convictions already, 56% have mental health issues, 56% have substance abuse issues and re-offenders with a 70% recidivism rate. It is estimated that the state will be releasing 55,000 of these felons by the end of 2012. To read more about this problem and how it affects our city and neighborhood, read the full bulletin here:

http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/police/pdfs/crimetrends/crimetrendscrimetrends_1qtr2012.pdf

If you would like to subscribe to the Crime Trends Bulletin, a sign up form (name and email address) can be found here:

http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/police/crimetrends/signup.asp

Be safe and vigilant out there and report anything suspicious you see in the canyon.