Crime rates rise in Burbank in 2015, police data shows

The number of violent and property crimes reported in Burbank, when combined, jumped 9% last year, according to year-end statistics released by the Burbank Police Department.

Property crimes — which include burglary, theft and arson — jumped from 2,438 cases reported in 2014 to 2,669 last year.

While the number of burglaries stayed almost the same, the number of thefts and auto thefts spiked nearly 11%, from 2,130 incidents logged in 2014 to 2,361 last year.

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Meanwhile, the number of violent crimes, including homicide, robbery, rape and aggravated assault, increased by 6%, jumping from 150 incidents in 2014 to 159 last year.

That’s because of a 23% increase in aggravated assaults, which jumped to 98 incidents last year from 80 the year before.

Police logged decreases in the remaining violent crime categories, except for murder, which remained the same. One murder was reported in Burbank both last year and the year before.

In last year’s case, a 35-year-old woman was fatally stabbed in the bedroom of a Burbank home in August. A 28-year-old Hesperia man she was dating at the time was charged with one count of murder in connection with her death.

According to the statistics, the number of vandalism reports jumped 23% last year to 473, from 384 the year before.

The number of fraud cases, including identity theft, increased 7% from 696 in 2014 to 744 last year.

Last year, emergency response times improved slightly. Police responded to emergency calls in an average of 3 minutes and 28 seconds, down from an average of 3 minutes and 39 seconds the year before.

Police responded to all calls last year in an average of 13 minutes and 52 seconds, compared to 13 minutes and 44 seconds in 2014.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, [email protected]

Twitter: @atchek