The Sacramento Police Department has seen an increase in armed robberies in the east and south area of the city. This trend has not been specific to the city, as adjoining areas of the county have seen this rise as well.  The victims in these cases have been predominately members of the Asian community.  The suspects, described as African American males, 18-25 years old, approach their victims as they exit their vehicles as they return home.  These robberies have primarily occurred between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. 

In an effort to inform citizens of this trend, we have conducted a large amount of outreach to the community.  We recently held a community meeting at our Police Headquarters where bilingual officers were available to bridge any communication gaps.   We also utilized the Asian Community Center and foreign language broadcast media to assist in distributing crime prevention tips to the community.  While this trend has been seen in the past and officers have made arrests on several of those cases, we share the concerns of the community that these crimes are on-going.  We will continue to deploy significant resources on this particular issue until these robberies cease.

The Sacramento Police Department takes all acts of violence seriously.  Several specialty units have been assigned to prevent and investigate these crimes.  Officers will continue to follow every lead to ensure that these suspects are caught and prosecuted. We continue to ask for the community’s help in spreading the word of these incidents and urge you take preventative steps to ensure you don’t become a victim.    

Prevention Tips:

- Be aware of your surroundings as your enter your neighborhood.  If you feel like someone is following you, don’t go home.  Drive to a well lit and populated area and call 911. 

- Keep the exterior of your home well lit. 

- Know your neighbors and look out for each other.  If you see someone suspicious in your neighborhood, or in a vehicle, call 911 and report the license plate. 

- Ensure your street lights are working.  Report any outages to the City by dialing “311”. 

- Don’t flash large sums of cash when making purchases, it makes you a target.

- Don’t carry or store large sums of cash in your home.

- If you have security cameras at home, ensure they are operational.  This is a great tool for investigators and will help solve many of the crimes. 

- REMEMBER, if you or any area resident(s) see something suspicious; please report that information to the Sacramento Police Department via the following numbers: 

Emergency Number:   9-1-1

Non-Emergency Number:   (916) 264-5471