The Orange County Sheriff’s Department gave its annual crime report to the Rossmoor Community Service District’s Board of Directors Tuesday, and despite significantly fewer calls for service, residents were urged to remain vigilant.
Apparently, Rossmoor’s repeated expressions of concern about law enforcement drew some attention as the appointment of a new Bureau Chief (March 2023) and the implementation of “new investigative techniques” are making a difference.
As an unincorporated area, Rossmoor must depend on the OCSD for criminal law enforcement within the community of Rossmoor and the California Highway Patrol for traffic enforcement.
Capt. A.J. Patella, now in charge of all of the unincorporated areas of Orange County, reported the district had 166 calls for service over the past year, versus 196 the previous year, but was hesitant to call the 24 percent drop in calls for service a positive development.
“Last year, we had 196 calls for service. This year 166, so some would say that’s a good thing. To me. I’m torn on it, because I actually like it when the citizens call our dispatch,” said Patella.
If residents are “seeing things that are suspicious, I want them to call,” said Patella.
“I don’t care if the call volume goes up. To me, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if people are reporting suspcious behavior,” he said. “So that’s why I’m hesitant to call that (lowered calls for service) a good thing so I really want to encourage people to call (to report suspicious activity, “then I will say it is a good thing…and reports come in all shapes and sizes,” the police captain said.
“They are not all criminal reports,” he said, saying residential tips helped thwart at least one major crime against an elderly Rossmoor resident.
“I’m really proud of some trends that we’ve seen, and some things that my guys are doing behind the scenes that are really, I think making a big impact here,” Patella said.
Without revealing exactly what deputies are doing behind the scenes, he suggested the “new investigative techniques” somehow involved data.
Patella displayed a poster graphic containing the photos of an L.A. gang and a dozen others who were linked by connecting lines and arrows to them.
He said Rossmoor’s vigilance prevented a “bank juggling” incident in Rossmoor back in October and that the department’s quick reaction to a call made a difference in a medical aid incident.
In October of last year, Patella said by monitoring the gang members, “we got wind” that an incident was about to go down in Rossmoor. “There was no burglary in Rossmoor that day because we stopped it from happening,” said Patella.
“We didn’t catch them that day, but we did catch them on Dec. 13. They were tied to more than 40 burglaries in Orange County and we got case filings on all of them.”
“Our priority response times are outstanding in Rossmoor,” said Patella.
He said crimes against persons, although not totally within the Sheriff’s Department control, went down, the district also saw a significant reduction in thefts.
“The one that I’m really proud of is actually our crimes against property, and basically, as you can see (pointing to the chart), that those went down very significantly. And if you look down below with a brief description of what it was last year, we had a huge amount of catalytic converter thefts. And this year it has been significantly reduced.
Asked by Director Jo Shade how many catalytic converters were stolen in the past year in Rossmoor, Patella said only one.
Board President Michael Maynard called the report “very commendable” as he urged Patella and the OCSD to “keep up the good work…and I love that you prevent crime in Rossmoor.”
“And I also definitely agree with what you said, if you see something, call and report it. “What’s It called, “If you see something, say something?” That is what’s needed,” said Maynard.
Modern criminals are smart, said Patella, yet their patterns are often predictable. They also sometimes use data and surveillance equipment to know when to strike. “It only takes 5-10 minutes,” said Patella, suggesting “they know what they are doing so we have to be really, really vigilant.”