Fresno police report 18% drop in vehicle burglaries year over year

Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said Wednesday that vehicle burglaries across the city dropped 18% over the past 12 months compared to the year prior, crediting a targeted enforcement operation that focused on the Fig Garden, Old Fig Garden, and North Fresno beats. The operation, dubbed "Clean Streets," involved plainclothes surveillance in parking lots at Fig Garden Village and the River Park shopping center, along with license-plate reader deployments on Nees and Herndon avenues. "When we concentrate resources on the right blocks, we see real results," Balderrama said. Twenty-four suspects were arrested during the operation, and detectives recovered more than 400 stolen items ranging from laptops to firearms. Officers still urge residents to remove valuables and lock doors — the department's own data shows nearly 60% of vehicle burglaries involve an unlocked car.