Countywide : Overall Crime Down, 1993 Statistics Show

The overall number of reported crimes in Orange County fell in 1993 despite an unprecedented number of homicides, according to city-by-city crime statistics released this week by the California Department of Justice.

A record 196 homicides were reported last year, 78 of which occurred in Santa Ana. This represents a 34.5% increase in homicides for that city compared to the previous year. Despite the increase, overall crime in Santa Ana dropped significantly, statistics show.

Westminster, which historically has had a handful of murders each year, experienced a record 10 homicides last year. But, overall crime in the city dropped by 12%, according to statistics.

Santa Ana and Westminster are reflective of a countywide trend of more homicides and aggravated assaults, but fewer rapes, robberies, burglaries, thefts and arsons.

“The numbers have gone down and that’s encouraging,� Westminster police Lt. Rick Main said. “But you don’t want to get too cocky about them because they can swing back. What we want to do is improve upon those numbers.�

Main said the drop in crime can probably be attributed to TARGET, the city’s gang-suppression program and to the department’s Problem Oriented Policing program, which focuses on the city’s troubled areas.

Crime declined last year in five of Orange County’s seven largest cities. Irvine, which has gained a national reputation as one of the safest larger cities in the United States, had a 13.1% decrease in violent crime, the largest drop of any city.

Other cities that had significant crime decreases were Fullerton, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Orange, Tustin, San Juan Capistrano and Stanton.

Although Mission Viejo remains one of the safest cities in the county, the city experienced a 21% jump in crime, mostly due to a steep rise in auto thefts and burglaries.

“We live in pretty rough economic times, and basically, we’ve had an increase in crimes related to dishonesty,� said sheriff’s Lt. Randy Blair, chief of police services in Mission Viejo.

Other cities which experienced increases in crime were Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Villa Park and Seal Beach.

O.C. Crime Comparisons

There were more than 5,500 fewer crimes in Orange County during 1993 than in 1992. For the most part, the decline was in property offenses. However, even in those categories where there were increases--homicide, assault and motor vehicle theft--the rate of crime per 1,000 residents remained fairly stable. Santa Ana had the most reported crimes in 1993, but Costa Mesa had the highest rate. A look at types of crimes reported countywide, and all crimes in each of the cities:

1992 1993 Crimes Rate Crimes Rate Homicide 173 0.1 196 0.1 Rape 631 0.3 546 0.2 Robbery 5,775 2.3 5,567 2.2 Aggravated assault 6,976 2.8 7,147 2.8 Total personal crimes 13,555 5.5 13,456 5.3 Burglary 30,185 12.1 27,418 10.7 Motor vehicle theft 21,124 8.4 21,288 8.3 Theft 75,872 30.3 73,050 28.6 Arson 1,330 0.5 1,262 0.5 Total property crimes 128,511 51.3 123,018 48.1 Total crimes 142,066 56.8 136,474 53.4

*

1992 1993 City Crimes Rate Crimes Rate Anaheim 16,846 60.4 18,718 65.6 Brea 2,122 63.3 2,196 64.6 Buena Park 4,800 67.9 4,474 62.4 Costa Mesa 7,394 75.1 7,613 75.4 Cypress 2,269 51.4 2,198 48.9 Dana Point 1,666 50.3 1,507 44.4 Fountain Valley 3,138 58.3 2,912 53.6 Fullerton 8,667 73.9 7,905 66.2 Garden Grove 10,078 68.1 9,615 64.2 Huntington Beach 8,557 46.3 9,156 48.9 Irvine 4,986 43.4 4,576 38.8 Laguna Beach 1,391 58.2 1,619 66.8 Laguna Hills 1,827 74.6 1,156 46.2 Laguna Niguel 1,359 27.1 1,163 22.1 La Habra 2,473 47.3 2,636 49.5 Lake Forest 1,934 33.7 2,000 34.4 La Palma 698 44.7 716 45.8 Los Alamitos 711 58.8 583 47.9 Mission Viejo 2,221 29.5 2,671 31.8 Newport Beach 3,916 57.6 3,730 54.2 Orange 6,951 60.8 6,057 52.1 Placentia 1,374 32.9 1,509 35.0 San Clemente 1,265 29.3 1,405 31.8 San Juan Capistrano 1,285 46.9 1,157 41.5 Santa Ana 21,538 70.7 19,563 63.4 Seal Beach 842 33.1 916 35.2 Stanton 2,586 82.5 2,379 74.3 Tustin 3,427 63.1 3,354 58.3 Villa Park 173 27.4 192 30.0 Westminster 5,692 71.2 5,135 63.3 Yorba Linda 1,501 27.3 1,389 24.6 County total* 142,066 56.7 136,474 53.4

* Includes unincorporated areas

Source: California Department of Justice