We just received this email from a prospective home buyer:
I am in the process of looking to purchase a home in La Quinta and recently read some blog sites concering crime levels in the area. The stories on the blog are definitely alarming but I wonder about the accuracy as far as current crime stats as well as plans/proposals to address it. can you advice me on where or to whom I could talk to get more information around this issue? Many thanks, R.
Here is our response:
As a prospective home buyer, you raise very good questions, and you are right to not take all the bloggers at face value. We did have three incidents in a row last week, which is why people are so shocked, as it’s usually relatively calm here. It’s never perfect, but dramatic events are infrequent.
We had a nice candlelight vigil the other night in solidarity with the families who are suffering right now, and to enable the community to meet with police and elected officials to emphasize our concerns. They are very accessible and are taking immediate steps to provide more patrols and to find the bad guys. No one wants a spike in crime….
Our association meets regularly with police personnel, and asks for comparisons to other cities, and other parts of the city. What we consistently find is that the Cove, even with a very diverse population, has about the same rate of incidents as other parts of the city. And LQ ranks well below most other cities in crime rate. When special circumstances arise, police respond with expert teams to stem the trend.
Tom Fowler is the Police Community Services Officer (His name and number are on the website.) Try him at
tfowler@riversidesheriff.org He’ll give you the straight answers better than I can.
People purchase very lovely (and expensive) homes here, and rarely leave for reasons of criminal incidents, at least in my experience.
Don’t get discouraged, keep the Cove on your short list of possible home sites. It has so many virtues, the dramatic mountains, clean air, dark skies, and friendly neighbors. Most of us wouldn’t trade it for anywhere else!
Keep in touch if you have other questions.
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March 19th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
La Quinta is the Gem of the Desert and the COVE is its apex. The best views of the entire desert area. I love to live in the COVE. I love the fact that SilverRock is a mere 5 minutes drive from the COVE. The crime in the COVE is grossly exaggerated, possibly by Cookie Cutters Builders. Whatever problems we have we will solve. Since buying my home in the COVE last year, I met the most amazing people I ever met. No regrets here!!
March 19th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=La+Quinta&state=CA
We’ve owned here since 1987, and have noticed lots of changes – not all bad, of course – in the cove. The City’s continual buying of Section 8 homes here, though – versus Adolph’s lair of PGA West, does tend to tick us off.
I’m waiting for some sort of city study (yeah, right….) about the La Quinta’s subsidized rental residences and connections with the recent drive-by shootings. LQ is going to need to prioritize the homeOWNERS here in the cove.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Hey Batavia. Do you know whereof you speak? Take the trouble to find out… Briefly, all applicants to rent city-owned housing (purchased with Redevelopment funds, by the way), go through a strict screening process. This includes criminal background checks, rental history and income qualifications. If any tenant transgresses, they are evicted. There have been evictions when the rules were broken. The city-owned houses and renters are probably some of the best in town. I’m not sure how many dwellings the city still owns, but in July of last year there were 26. I expect less now, as often they are purchased by the occupant. Find someone else to pick on, buddy. And get the facts before you make yourself ridiculous.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Posting a link to crime statistics from 5 years ago is just a sign of being out of touch with reality. The truth is that the population has increased to 45,000 in La Quinta and crime has decresed over the past 5 years. The COVE has gone through a revival, clearing away what was built when the La Quinta was not a city. I am fed up with people talking about La Quinta as a hell hole when is totally the opposite. R needs to understand that in La Quinta life is so relaxed and serene that people needs to find something to bitch about.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:41 am
What truly stands out here as an indicator of the hopes and future of the Cove as a community is the well written and insightful response to the email. Quote me links and studies all day, but think of the typical standard replies to such concerns, and then read this site’s reply again. We are not only spoken to directly, but a real actionable response with follow-up is offered. The Cove doses represent the best of what this country stands for in “Community” and I am proud to know such folks.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:33 am
My husband and I moved to the cove 5 years ago and love it. Sure, it has problems but I think the city is doing its best to solve the issues. The beauty of the surrounding mountains is well worth it!! If you love to hike it’s the place to be!!!
March 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
We are also looking to buy in La Quinta, thank you so much for posting this. What a well written reply. We also looked at the GALLERY and WOW, you guys are lucky! We will look in the Cove for sure when we visit in May. We also noticed some animosity raised by this “Batavia”. So we got curious and looked through other comments posted under that name: He/she wants the Dogs to run around free against State Law, the garbage cans to stay on the street against City Laws, the codes not to be enforced also against City Laws, and he/she blames low income people for all the crime, he/she has it for the mayor and calls Nazis the people doing their job, he/she posts deceiving information and links to outdated statistics. And after all this the webmaster still allows this guy/gal to post comments? Wow, you guys are a VERY TOLERANT…This wouldn’t fly where we live. No doubt you are the NICEST NEIGHBORS IN THE WORLD!
March 20th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
We have lived in the Cove the past 7 years winters. We are seasonal. Our neighbors watch out for our home when we are away. It’s a great place to live! Wouldn’t live any other place.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I think the response is perfect. I love the cove and wouldn’t dream of moving.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Don’t forget the Cove Hiking Trails, likelly the best in the Desert Area!
March 21st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Thank you all for your candid responses. This has really helped put things in perspective for me. I hope soon to be a new resident of the cove and with that I plan on doing my part to help bring out the best in this great community.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I have to agree with Coverunner…crime is grossly overstated in La Quinta. I have lived in La Quinta for the better part of 35 years. It is a great place to live. The natural beauty can’t be beat and, while La Quinta has grown incredibly over this time, it still has the same small town feel it always has, especially in the cove.
February 28th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
I lived in the cove for about 13 years and have never had any trouble there. I have a truck in the driveway that I never locked and it’s still there. The cove is quite and when crime happens no one knows what happens because it’s so quite there. I thought of moving to Shadow Hills but I love the mountain views. One day I said I was moving and I went outside at night and it was dead quite and I thought why in the hell was I thinking of moving.