L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials reported Thursday the latest Part-I crime numbers continued to trend down based on data as of June, during a Public Safety Committee meeting at Santa Clarita City Hall.
“I’m happy to report that crime is down 20% this year, year to date, overall,” said Lt. Brandon Barclay, acting captain for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, referring to the latest numbers.
Barclay also said while the overall numbers were moving in the right direction — the LASD website indicated an 18% drop in Part-I in the city and nearly 35% overall in the county, year to date, compared to April 1, 2024 — retail thefts continued to pose a challenge.
Barclay told the committee Thursday he took a deep dive into the robbery reports to see what happened after he saw an increase over the first five months of the year compared to last.
“We have seen a mild uptick in robbery. It’s up 15% this year to date. It’s 53 and this time last year, we had 46,” he said. “I’ve conducted a forensic analysis and determined that the uptick is basically loss prevention getting into fights with folks that are stealing, which otherwise would have been a petty theft.”
Barclay said any intervention or physical interaction with a store employee can turn a petty theft incident into what’s known as an “Estes robbery,” which is the law enforcement term for the elevated shoplifting charge that involves resistance and force.
Barclay also stated new prosecutorial priorities from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office have so far resulted in a regular uptick in the county’s jail population. The previous daily inmate average was approximately 12,500 during the last several years under District Attorney George Gascón. That figure is now closer to 12,800, Barclay said Thursday.
One of the changes he noted was Proposition 36, which City Council members asked about Thursday.
“With the passing of Prop. 36, it’s two convictions of petty theft, prior convictions, will lead to a felony arrest, which will ensure jail time,” Barclay said, referring to the voter-approved effort to curb a recent rise in organized retail theft.
“So (District Attorney Nathan Hochman) is really trying to steer away much more from the cite-and-release-type” policies of his predecessor, Barclay said.
Barclay said the station is working with the business and city officials to address retail crime, with Hochman creating storefront stickers to let thieves know where big-box retailers plan to be more proactive against crime, as a deterrent.
“So, we’re going to our big-box retailers, our Macy’s, our Dick’s, our TJ Maxx, our Ross’, to get them in on this, and also to serve as a warning,” Barclay said. “This is a warning to folks, if they want to come into Santa Clarita, they want to come from Bakersfield, from Van Nuys, from Lancaster, Palmdale, that it’s not going to be an easy street. We are going to fully prosecute with what the law will allow.”
The total number of Part-I crimes reports to the SCV Sheriff’s Station through May 1, 2025, was 1,109, which represents more than 300 fewer than the same time last year, when there were 1,419 reported.
The biggest reduction was seen in the categories of larceny and theft. The incidents of larceny, which involve the theft of unsecured property, dropped from 851 to 626 in the year-to-date numbers. The number of burglaries dropped from 233 to 166.
