CELEBRATING 130 YEARS OF THE VINE!.....Section B



 
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024 

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VOLUME 18 NO. 12VOLUME 18 NO. 12

SIERRA MADRE FIRE AND POLICE RELEASE 2023 
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTs


By Kevin McGuire

The Sierra Madre Fire and Police 
Departments presented their 
annual reports before the City 
Council, highlighting public safety 
in 2023. Fire Chief Brent Bartlett 
gave a presentation on Tuesday, 
March 12, 2024.

“Our resolve is to uphold our core 
values of honor, respect, integrity, 
and compassion and will continue 
to forge ahead with determination, 
knowing that the safety and well-
being of our community are 
entrusted to our capable hands,” 
Bartlett said. 

Calls for FD service in Sierra Madre 
were at an all-time high in 2023, 
up five percent over 2022. There 
were 1454 calls for service in 2023 
compared to 1382 in 2022. Calls 
are up 37% since becoming a full-
time career fire department in 2019. 
Eight-two percent of calls received 
were for medical-related issues 
(EMT0, with only 12% related 
to fires. Six percent of calls were 
miscellaneous, which included 
persons locked out of vehicles, 
down powerlines, and other non-
emergency issues. 

Because the Fire Department is 
part of a mutual aid system (unified 
response), 31% of service calls were 
for surrounding cities outside Sierra 
Madre. This totaled 445 calls, up 
50% over 2022. Thirteen percent 
of calls required outside agencies 
(Arcadia, Pasadena) to assist the 
Sierra Madre Fire Department 
(SMFD).

In 2023, the SMFD completed 4,733 
training hours, including 4,127 
for fire suppression training. An 
additional 306 hours were spent on 
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) 
training, and 300 hours were put 
aside for professional development. 
This can include company officer 
courses, fire investigation, and 
arson investigation training. 

The SMFD is mandated to inspect 
multi-family residential areas, such 
as apartments and condos, as well 
as area schools and churches. In 
2023, the SMFD conducted 1,879 
inspections, including 1,432 brush 
abatements, 133 multi-residential, 
15 schools and churches, 234 plan 
reviews, and 65 field inspections, 
most of which were for sprinklers, 
according to Chief Bartlett. 

The SMFD received $78,000 in a 
Fire Hazard and Fuel Reduction 
grant for the S.M.A.R.T. program 
(Sierra Madre Achieving Resiliency 
Together). This is the second year of 
this grant, which helped the SMFD 
hold nine Chipper and Green 
Waste events and eight community 
educational forums discussing 
disaster preparedness, wildfire 
home resiliency, fire resilient 
landscaping, and fire prevention. 

The SMFD's cost of business has 
increased to its highest, with a budget 
of $3.6 million, the bulk of which 
will go to salaries, according to 
Bartlett. The department recovered 
18% of its budget ($666,373) due 
to EMS billing, which recovered 
90% of the costs incurred. Another 
10% recovery was split between the 
paramedic subscription program 
and the instructional service 
agreement with Rio Honda College. 

After a three-year vacancy, SMFD 
was able to fill an arson investigation 
position. They relied on other 
agencies' mutual aid before filling 
the post. Since July 2023, SMFD has 
conducted 11 arson investigations, 
including three within the city. 

The SMFD continued its 
Community Outreach programs in 
2023, including free Sidewalk CPR 
and Stop the Bleed, in partnership 
with the local business Code 3. 
There was also the Mayor’s Car 
Show, a collaboration with the 
library for their annual Pumpkin 
Smash, and driving Santa around 
town during the holidays. The 
SMFD also visited local schools and 
scout organizations. 

Police Department

Police Chief Gustavo Barrientos 
presented his annual summary of 
police-related statistics and events 
in 2023 and his goals for 2024 to 
a moderate group of community 
members and the City Council on 
Tuesday. 

According to Barrientos, the Sierra 
Madre Police Department (SMPD) 
is the only city in the San Gabriel 
Valley with a fully staffed patrol 
unit. Crimes are divided into two 
categories: Group A and Group B. 
Group A represents serious crimes 
that appear in the crime index, 
such as murder, rape, robbery, and 
aggravated assault. Group B consists 
of lesser crimes, such as burglaries, 
grand theft, and vandalism. 

There were three reported robberies 
in Sierra Madre in 2023. There 
were zero reported 
in 2022. A robbery 
occurs when someone 
steals property while 
inducing fear in 
someone or causing 
a physical struggle 
to obtain property. 
A single report of 
rape happened last 
year, compared to no 
reports in 2022. Chief 
Barrientos did not 
speak on this matter. 
Residential burglaries 
decreased in 2023, 
with 11 reports over 
14 reported in 2022. 

In Group 2, simple 
assault crimes jumped 
from 12 in 2022 to 20 
in 2023. Sex offenses, 
such as lewd acts and 
indecent exposure, 
were also up, with 
seven reported last year compared 
to 10 this year. But auto burglaries 
were down to only nine this year 
compared to a whopping 22 last 
year. Grand and petty theft crimes 
increased in 2023, but significant 
arrests were made. Theft from 
vehicle statistics were down overall 
in 2023. 

Over the previous year, financial 
crimes dropped over 67% in 2023, 
and vandalism declined. But, liquor 
laws such as public drunkenness 
doubled in 2023 compared to 2022 
with 12 reported offenses. 

Total crimes from Group A 
increased by two over 2022, and 
Group B crimes decreased in 2023 
with 46 fewer incidents than last 
year.

“We are definitely trending in the 
right direction. I don’t think this is 
just by chance; it’s the high visibility, 
[and] the quality effort patrol 
officers are putting out there,” Chief 
Barrientos stated. 

One detective handled 561 
criminal cases last year. In 2023, 
25 search warrants were issued, 
a steep increase of 400% over 
2022. Barrientos credits Detective 
Nelson Ascano’s “aggressiveness” 
to the rise in search warrants for 
phone records, surveillance camera 
footage, and residence searches. “He 
has a vast amount of experience,” 
Barrientos said. 

There were 13 felony arrests, a drop 
of 79% over 2022 when there were 
62 felony arrests. Misdemeanor 
arrests were also down 39 percent. 
Barrientos stated that there were 
“very significant quality arrests” 
last year. Crime mapping shows that 
surrounding cities like Arcadia and 
Monrovia have higher overall crime 
rates than Sierra Madre.

In the Community

For each of the last two years, SMPD 
received between 60 and 80 calls for 
service for persons who have mental 
illness. Approximately 30 persons 
over two years were put on a 5150 
hold, which involves involuntary 
detaining a mentally ill person for 
a 72-hour psychiatric watch. In the 
5150 cases, these individuals did 
not possess guns. But, 13 firearms 
were seized by individuals in the 
community. Nine of the guns were 
sent for destruction, and three 
resulted in arrests. 

Homelessness has not been a 
significant problem in Sierra 
Madre, (continued on page 3)

Councilman Edward Garcia and Mayor Kelli Kriebs at the SMFD 
Booth during the Wistaria Festival last week. Photo by Dirk Bolle.


InSIDE THIS WEEK

SECTION B

2024 Wistaria 
Festival In 
Pictures by Dirk 
Bolle

Pages 1-3

Something To Think 
About........Page 4

Food, Drink & Fun

 Page 5

 Peter Dills

 Gustavo Lira

Sports & Fitness

 Page 6

 Harvey Hyde

 Michele Silence

SECTION A

Sierra Madre News

Pages 1,2,3

Pasadena/Altadena

 Page 4

So. Pas./San Marino

 Page 5

Arcadia/Monrovia/
Duarte News

Page 6

Around San Gabriel 
Valley

Page 7

Education & Youth

Page 8

Best Friends Page 9

Good Life.... Page 10

Opinion Page 11

Legal Notices

Pgs 11,12

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