Spike in crime in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood terrifying residents

A spike in crime across San Jose, especially burglaries, has residents sounding the alarm in the city.

Police have taken notice as one neighborhood, in particular, is being targeted in recent weeks.

The day before Thursday, while both he and his wife were home, somebody kicked the front door of Matt Medurihis’ front door on Carmel Drive in Willow Glen.

Hearing voices, they ran off.

On Thursday, three masked men tried to rob another home before an alarm chased them off.

“We have seen a spike in crime in that area,” San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.

Garcia says a task force has been set up to address the problem.

“We have a team that is acting proactively to take down these crews,” Garcia said. “Five or six crews may be responsible for 100 robberies and other crimes as well.”

The chief tells KRON4 he has rescinded a policy where officers would only respond to burglar alarms that can be verified.

“I can’t look at a community member and say we didn’t respond to an alarm because it was not verified, and so we are changing that.”

And that’s good news for residents.

“It gives me peace of mind to know that police will be responding to these calls,” said one resident who did not want to reveal her name.

This woman is obviously nervous about the uptick in burglaries there.

There are now extra patrols on the job here and across the city.