Local Issues and Background

Vandalism and Crime

Cat Burglaries in Montclair: 2004

Following message received 9/11/04 from Lt. Green who (was) in charge of our area: "There have been 3 recent incidents in Montclair (Police Beat 13Z) where a suspect has entered homes via unlocked/open doors and windows and have taken purses and wallets WHILE THE RESIDENTS ARE HOME.

Fathers Day Tire Piercing: 2004

On Father's Day 2004, in the wee hours of the morning, several Piedmont Pines Residents awoke to find their tires flattened by thugs who roamed along Carisbrook, Skyline, Melville, Ascot and Castle. Estimates of the damage are 100 tires, pierced through the sidewalls with a sharp object. One household reported 10 tires ruined, which included cars of their overnight guests celebrating Fathers Day.

Also in the early hours of Father's Day, a portable classroom at Montera Middle School was torched by an arson, cars were egged, mailboxes smashed and at least one windshield was broken. It's not known if the crimes are connected.

We're fortunate to live in a relatively low-crime area, but that's no reason to sit back and hope it won't happen again. Piedmont Pines Neighborhood Association has offered a $1000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved with any of the Fathers Day incidents. In addition, the association:

• Coordinated publicity with the Montclarion and the Oakland Tribune to spread the word about the crimes and the reward
• Coordinated with neighboring associations and the Montclair Safety and Improvement Council to alert surrounding neighborhoods
• Worked with Oakland Police Department to help gather and coordinate tips and information received. (Both crimes fall to the Property Crimes Division, the most seriously understaffed unit at OPD, so every ounce of help we can give will be of immense value to the police). Cars were not fingerprinted because it's very unlikely any cars were touched by human hands.
• Plans to launch an education campaign with the schools in the Spring of 2005 since these acts of vandalism seem to fall into a just-out-of-school pattern.
• Plans an area-wide expansion of emergency preparedness and crime prevention groups, like CORE and Neighborhood Alert.

In the meantime, here's what you can do:

• Report any sightings of suspicious activity to 911 as it's occurring--write down as much detail as you can, particularly, license plates, physical descriptions
• If you saw anything suspicious the night of the crimes (6/19 or very early 6/20), report it to the police at 777-3333, and e-mail info@piedmontpines.org for local tracking of information.
• Talk to your teenage children to see if they've heard anyone "bragging" about the spree.
• Clean out your garage and pull your cars off the street, away from roaming vandals.

Thanks to all the residents who have been so helpful in providing information and brainstorming ideas. Let's work together to keep crime out of our wonderul neighborhood.

Mail and Identity Theft

Is your home mailing address any safer than an on-line address for conducting important transactions? Should you lock your home and your car religiously and not your mailbox, where checks, statements and tons of personal information arrive daily? Not when thieves roam our streets with unfettered access to our unlocked mailboxes.

Mail theft is a serious and growing problem throughout the Bay Area, and is expected to get worse. Currently, only Phoenix leads the Bay Area in the nation’s mail theft cases.
Stolen mail is often a thief’s first step into an even worse crime: identity theft, which is the fastest growing crime in the US today. Identity theft takes each of its victims hundreds of ugly hours researching damages, resolving billing disputes and restoring credit ratings.

Through neighborhood awareness and personal precautions we can reduce mail theft in our neighborhood. PPNA is working closely with the Montclair Safety and Improvement Council to run the thieves out of our area. MSIC has made Mail Theft one of its top three issues, with two Piedmont Pines Board Members leading the effort.

For detailed information on reporting mail theft, purchasing a discounted locking mailbox, and pick-up schedules for our newest mail collection boxes, go to the MSIC website

Also, see discussion in Members Forum where neighbors are reporting incidents of mail theft.