Atherton police warn of increase in catalytic converter thefts

Here is yet another case where residents are finding out about theft DAYS after the occurrence.
No messages, no texts, had to find out about it in the Post and here.
How can we possible watch for crime without timely notification.
Need to get the Town Council involved...again. APD needs direction

Let's actually address the underlying issue here, which no one seems to want to talk about: OBVIOUSLY there are not enough police resources to adequately patrol the town for crime.

There are therefore three logical choices:

1. Keep the current regime, but residents have to endure a lot of crime (including, recently, a resident being followed home and stuck up at gun point, with shots fired at his wife).

2. Outsource the police to the sheriff, and use the huge savings to hire private patrol, like Bel Air, California successfully does with the LAPD and their own private patrol.

3. Ask the residents for a parcel tax to hire the private patrol, and keep the APD for purely political reasons.

Even I would say #3 is preferable to #1 at this point. From a rational and logical point of view, #2 is obviously the way to go (but the Town Council won't even have a discussion about it).

FYI: I receive daily alerts from the Atherton Police Department. Just go to the town's website, and you can sign up for a variety of updates from the town.
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"Here is yet another case where residents are finding out about theft DAYS after the occurrence.
No messages, no texts, had to find out about it in the Post and here.
How can we possible watch for crime without timely notification.
Need to get the Town Council involved...again. APD needs direction."

PeninsulaGirl:
Yeah, thanks. Did that.
The alerts don't always work.
Texts, especially emails don't make it to us.
This is an ongoing problem for APD.
Chief McCulley claims they don't have time to send out all alerts.
And now Joe Wade is retiring. At least he tried to pass on alerts.

Contract out with the SMCSO. Be willing to pay for the amount of protection and service you want.