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San Mateo County will pilot a program to encourage residents to come forward with information leading to arrests and convictions in residential burglary cases. The program is in response to over 90 such crimes in unincorporated parts of the county, including Midpeninsula cities like Menlo Park, San Carlos and Atherton, since January, according to Supervisor Ray Mueller, who proposed the program. It would include paying qualifying rewards of up to $10,000.
Mueller, who represents the district affected by these burglaries, District 3, said that in “local jurisdictions have added license plate readers, increased police patrols, held community forms to reinforce neighborhood watch programs, worked to register private residential cameras, and utilized new tactics, such as an Atherton employing bait houses to catch those in the act of the crime.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to create this program during their Tuesday, June 11, meeting.
“When residential burglaries occur, they profoundly impact our communities, because our home is our safe haven, where we create lasting memories with our family and friends,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at the meeting. “When criminals invade our homes and steal our personal belongings, it could be deeply traumatizing. … As your sheriff, my priority and focus is on making San Mateo County a safer community for everyone.”
Part of the proposed pilot program is an appropriation transfer of $125,000 from Measure K funds to establish the pilot program’s reward.
Mueller stated in the meeting that the police chiefs from all jurisdictions in his district that have their own police organizations are in support of the initiative.
“We encourage you to notice and report all suspicious activity,” Corpus said. “The residential burglary reward pilot program is a groundbreaking initiative designed to incentivize people to come forward and share viral information. By leveraging community intelligence, we can enhance our efforts to solve these crimes and prevent future occurrences.”
Sheriff Corpus said that community engagement and rewards are pivotal in combating residential burglaries.
“Residential burglaries present unique challenges, but we believe in thinking outside of the box to tackle these crimes effectively,” she said. “Information from witnesses and nearby residents is crucial to our investigation and identifying those responsible. Our community members and stakeholders are our eyes and ears.”
This program will be implemented in the cities of Belmont, Menlo Park, Half Moon Bay, Atherton, Pacifica, San Carlos, Portola Valley, Woodside, and unincorporated county areas located in District 3.
The pilot program plans to put together a committee of individuals with the sheriff’s department, the District Attorney’s Office and the county executive’s office to set the reward amount based on information leading to arrest or conviction.
“I am strongly supportive of Supervisor Ray Mueller’s effort to combat the plague of residential burglaries in our county by offering rewards to those who provide information leading to the apprehension and conviction of these criminals,” said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe in a statement. “Our citizens have every right to feel safe in the sanctity of their own homes, and those burglars who violate that feeling of safety deserve to be held accountable and punished. This proposal is a strong step in the effort to stop these felony crimes.”
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