|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Recently, the Atherton Police Department alerted residents to a rise in burglaries, but public crime data indicates there are actually fewer such reports than in past years. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and Menlo Park Police Department did not report a spike in burglaries in their jurisdictions.
“Our mission at the Atherton Police Department is to keep our community safe and informed. I am writing to make you aware of a recent increase in residential burglaries here in Atherton and in the surrounding communities,” Atherton Police Department Chief Steven McCulley said in an email to residents on Sept. 18. “While we are actively increasing patrols and working closely with our regional law enforcement partners, we also rely on the partnership of our residents to help deter crime.”
The Atherton Police Department later clarified the spike was over the course of a few days.
According to Atherton’s Citizen RIMS, which shows crime activity in the town, burglaries in the town appear to be low in the past few months compared to previous years.
“The uptick was from having multiple burglaries in the span of a few days and not an overall increase from the previous year,” Cmdr. Dan Larsen said in response to an inquiry from The Almanac.
There have been three burglaries in September 2025 so far, with one occurring after the department’s warning.
There were two burglaries on Sept. 13. The suspects in one of them have already been apprehended. Police arrested three juveniles, two 16-year-olds and one 14-year-old, for a Sept. 13 burglary on Euclid Avenue. Larsen declined to say what was stolen but said the department believed they were unrelated to other burglaries.
In the month of August, there were two reported burglaries in Atherton, significantly less than in years prior. August typically has more burglaries than other months. While there were zero burglaries in August 2016, there were five burglaries in August 2017. There were six in August 2018, and one in August 2019.
In 2024, Atherton and surrounding towns saw an increase in burglaries. But Atherton burglaries appear to be down this year. From January to September 2024, Atherton had 23 burglaries compared to 12 this year so far.
The Atherton Police Department has upped its patrol staffing to have more officers during peak burglary times, according to Larsen. The department will also be using its automated license plate readers and drone. It is planning a community meeting about burglary prevention for the future.
Most of the figures in this article use the town’s Citizen RIMS portal. The portal did not include a burglary on Barry Lane that occurred on Sept. 18. The Atherton Police Department sent out a press release on the burglary on Sept. 20.
Neighboring law enforcement agencies say they have not seen an increase. In the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters Patrol Area — which responds to crimes in Portola Valley, Woodside, North Fair Oaks, West Menlo Park and unincorporated areas in south San Mateo County — there has only been one reported residential burglary between Aug. 31 and Sept. 13.
“Over the last few weeks, the Sheriff’s Office has not observed a noticeable spike in residential burglaries in the Headquarters Patrol Bureau service area,” Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gretchen Spiker said. “The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office closely monitors crime trends in our communities.”
The Menlo Park Police Department is not seeing a significant increase either. The city has had 60 residential burglary cases as of Sept. 18 compared to 61 cases in 2024, Menlo Park Police Department spokesperson Nicole Acker said.
“It looks there is a slight uptick since the year isn’t over yet,” Acker added.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comment from the Atherton Police Department.
Omakase World Market brings diverse array of dining options to South San Francisco campus June 16, 2026 12:42 pm
Iranian hackers claim access to Cal Water customer data, ability to shut off serviceJune 15, 2026 1:22 pm