Businesses within the Vons shopping center are banding together to address problems with increased crime within the complex. A petition is circulating in hopes of encouraging the landowner to improve upon the area’s safety. Among their requests, shop owners are asking for better lighting to be added to the complex. 

Several businesses in the Base Line shopping center have been burglarized within the past couple months, including Euro Cafe, Dr. Robert Burwell’s dentist office and Rincon Azteca restaurant. On Friday, April 19 the Claremont Heights Postal Center was added to that list. The story was similar to others, with burglars making off with stolen cash after smashing open the glass front door. A string of smash-and-grab burglaries have occurred throughout the city in recent weeks. Incidents span from the Vons center to the Village and all the way down to Auto Center Drive.

At a crime meeting sponsored by the Claremont Chamber on Wednesday, City Manager Tony Ramos shared that shop owners within the shopping center have complained that the dim lighting in the complex may be creating opportunity for potential burglars. Currently, the lights turn off automatically during the night.  

Under the leadership of the Claremont Crime Prevention Coalition, business owners are drafting a petition in hopes of encouraging the complex’s owner to add all-night lighting, according to coalition president Edgar Reece. 

“It’s the first step,” Mr. Reece said. 

Any information on these crimes should be reported to the Claremont Police Department at 399-5411.