During the first six months of this last year, burglaries were up 34 percent in San Jose over the first half of last year. There were more than 2,400 commercial, residential, and attempted burglaries in the city from January to June 2012
Police say violent crimes are a top priority; although, with budget cuts, there are simply fewer officers on the streets to patrol and respond to property crimes.
President of the San Jose Police Officers Association, Jim Unland, also notes that the state budget crisis and pension realignment decisions are adding to the problem, "They've been releasing prisoners out of the state prison, putting them in county jails, which then means you have to take people out of the county jails and put them on the street. These are non-violent people, non-violent people tend to burglarize."
The mayor and city council have asked police to take a closer look at the spike in burglaries and to report back to the safety committee on a monthly basis to try to figure out where the break-ins are happening and, given the limited resources, how the city might be able to better address the trend.
