by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

A review of Claremont Police Department service logs from January 2015 to April 2025 reveals reports of burglaries — commercial, vehicle, and especially residential — have all declined over the past decade.

Residential burglary

The logs contained 1,184 reports of residential burglary or attempted residential burglary between January 2015 and April 2025, with a sharp decline in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and another notable reduction last year:

• 2015: 166
• 2016: 195
• 2017: 163
• 2018: 144
• 2019: 112
• 2020: 61
• 2021: 67
• 2022: 128
• 2023: 76
• 2024: 53
• 2025 (through April): 19

Of these, 53 incidents were reported on or near Indian Hill Boulevard; 32 on or near E. Sixth Street; 31 on or near Bonita Avenue; 28 on or near Mills Avenue; 25 on or near Mountain Avenue; 22 on or near San Jose Avenue; 18 in the area of bounded by Hollins Avenue, Amherst Avenue, Arrow Highway and Pomello Drive; 15 on or near Sycamore Avenue; 14 on or near Alamosa Drive; 13 near the area bounded by Towne Avenue, Miramar Avenue, and Elmira Avenue; and 12 on or near Harrison Avenue.

About 12% of the calls — 144 reports — came in from properties on or adjacent to the Claremont Colleges.

Victims reported burglars broke or otherwise breached several points of entry. The most widely reported were a rear door, with 182 instances. In addition, 169 used a front door; 162 a sliding glass door; 154 a garage door; 142 a rear window; 53 a side window; and 40 a side door. Other points of entry were front windows, upstairs windows and sliding glass doors, and in one instance, a chimney.

Vehicle burglary

There were 1,072 reports of burglary or attempted burglary from a vehicle:

• 2015: 100
• 2016: 83
• 2017: 129
• 2018: 119
• 2019: 140
• 2020: 123
• 2021: 93
• 2022: 118
• 2023: 70
• 2024: 76
• 2025 (through April): 21

With 192 incidents, or 17%, reports from on or near Indian Hill Boulevard top the list. Other areas of concern include 77 on or near San Jose Avenue; 62 on or near Foothill Boulevard; 127 on or near Mount Baldy Road; 62 on or near Bonita Avenue; 63 on or near Mills Avene; and 49 on or near Arrow Highway.

Other areas of note include College Avenue, Auto Center Drive, and Base Line Road.

Police recorded 814 reports of forced entry, 101 of unlawful entry or no force, and 15 of attempted forced entry. Many reports did not specify a method of entry.

Commercial burglary

There were 832 reports of commercial burglary or attempted burglary during the time period:

• 2015: 85
• 2016: 92
• 2017: 115
• 2018: 78
• 2019: 76
• 2020: 116
• 2021: 82
• 2022: 103
• 2023: 55
• 2024: 24
• 2025 (through April): 6

There were 70 reports noted on or near Indian Hill Boulevard; 58 on or near Auto Center Drive; 53 on or near Foothill Boulevard; 46 on or near Mills Avenue; 34 on or near Harvard Avenue; 19 on or near Base Line Road; 19 on or near Arrow Highway; 14 on or near Bonita Avenue; and 10 on or near Yale Avenue. 

Among individual businesses, Extra Space Storage locations at 525 W. Arrow Hwy., 775 S. Mills Ave., and 711 S. Mills Ave. stood out with 85 burglary reports.

Methods of entry varied, but the most widely reported at 375 was front door. An additional 64 used a rear door; 58 a front window; 55 a garage door; 50 a side door; 32 a side window; and 31 a wall or fence. Other methods of entry included rear windows, sliding glass doors, or a duct or vent. Three break-ins were reported through a skylight or roof.