6 of O.C.’s Big Cities Among Safest in U.S.

In an analysis of newly released FBI statistics showing a dramatic drop in area crime, six Orange County cities were among 20 of the largest nationwide reporting the lowest overall crime rates.

Property crime in the county’s large cities dropped at more than three times the national rate of decline, which was about 4%, and continued a trend toward lower crime rates.

Orange County’s 6% decline in violent crimes also outpaced the national average of 5%.

Most notable was the drop in Santa Ana homicides, down from 46 in 1996 to 27 last year, which helped to put that city in 19th place nationwide for low overall crime.

Capt. Daniel McCoy of the Santa Ana Police Department said the decline in homicides in his city was due largely to a crackdown on habitual offenders with gang affiliations. The crackdown, which teams police with prosecutors and probation officials, began in 1994, when Santa Ana had 74 homicides.

McCoy said he expects the homicide rate to drop even further this year: So far, only seven have been reported. “The trend is continuing, and that’s the kind of trend we like to see,” he said.

Equally noteworthy was an apparently anomalous jump in reported homicides in Orange, from just one in 1996 to 17 last year. Lt. Jim Anderson of the Orange Police Department disputed the FBI statistics, saying his numbers show 14 reported homicides, one of which was carried over from 1996.

The 1997 numbers in Orange reflect December’s rampage at a state Department of Transportation work yard by a fired employee, who gunned down four former colleagues before being shot dead by police.

But even in light of the Caltrans incident, Anderson conceded, the jump in homicides was puzzling, particularly when contrasted with the national trend in the opposite direction.

“Traditionally, we’ve always had a really low homicide rate here in Orange, and I don’t know why that would change,” he said. “The good news is we have yet to have a single homicide this year.”

The FBI statistics recorded crime rates in 196 cities with populations above 100,000, including eight cities in Orange County. An analysis by The Times showed that California cities were particularly crime-free, representing 15 of the 20 cities with lowest overall crime rates. The top three were Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Santa Clarita.

Irvine ranked sixth, with about 29 crimes per 1,000 residents. Orange followed in seventh place. Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Fullerton and Santa Ana were all within the top 20. Anaheim was 25th and Costa Mesa 33rd.

All Orange County cities showed above-average drops in crime, particularly property crime such as burglary, larceny and vehicle theft. The overall crime drops were: Anaheim, 17%; Costa Mesa, 14%; Fullerton, 20%; Garden Grove; 9%; Huntington Beach, 12%; Irvine, 10%; Orange, 14%; Santa Ana, 9%.

Across the nation, violent crime dropped 5% last year, according to the preliminary FBI figures, marking the sixth consecutive annual decrease in offenses such as homicide, aggravated assault and forcible rape.

Property crimes also dropped for the sixth year in a row, registering a 4% decline when compared with 1996.

Although FBI officials, as is customary, did not attempt to explain why crime rates keep dropping, other analysts attributed the trend to more emphasis on community policing, tougher sentencing laws and healthy economic conditions. Some also cited the increasing popularity of anti-theft devices on automobiles and more home security systems.

But even as the analysts lauded the continued reversal of the crime upswing that occurred in the mid-1980s, they cautioned against too much optimism.

“There are too many variables that go into the crime rate that we still don’t fully understand,” one federal official warned. “It would be dangerous to get our hopes up--or to let our guard down.”

In the violent-crime category, homicide and robbery showed the greatest decline in 1997--each down 9% from the year before. Aggravated-assault figures registered a decrease of 2% and forcible rape a drop of 1%.

Among property crimes, arson decreased 8%, motor vehicle theft 5%, larceny 4% and burglary 3%.

The FBI report said final crime figures, based on statistics supplied by 16,000 local, county and state police forces, will be available in the fall. The preliminary figures, sufficient to establish a national trend, were based on data supplied by only about 9,600 agencies, officials said.

A breakdown by regions showed violent crimes fell 5% in both the Northeast and West, and 4% in the Midwest and South. All regions recorded declines in the number of homicides reported: 13% in the Northeast, 11% in the West, 9% in the South and 6% in the Midwest.

Property crime totals fell by 6% in the Northeast, 4% in the South and 3% in both the Midwest and West.

In the nation’s largest cities, those with populations of 1 million or more, violent crime dropped 6%, slightly better than the national average, including a better-than-average 11% decline in homicides.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno attributed the downward trend in part to “the support this administration has given to local police,” including the drive to add 100,000 more officers on the streets.

“Everyone working together has made a difference,” she told reporters. “Police have done such an incredible job. I think everybody deserves some of the credit.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

California Shines

According to the latest FBI report, the eight Orange County cities with populations greater than 100,000 showed dramatic declines in crime rates and were among those cities nationwide with the lowest overall rates of crime.

Some rankings:

1 Thousand Oaks, 19.7 crimes per 1000 residents

2 Simi Valley, 20.3 per 1000

3 Santa Clarita, 23.6

4 Amherst Town, N.Y. 24.2

5 Sunnyvale, CA, 25.8

6 Irvine 29.1

7 Orange, 29.5

8 Glendale, 31.8

10 Huntington Beach, 33.9

16 Garden Grove, 39.9

17 Fullerton, 40.1

19 Santa Ana 41.1

25 Anaheim, 42.2

33 Costa Mesa, 46.0

Big-City Crime Falls

Crime in Orange County’s eight largest cities declined 13% last year from 1996. Crimes against property were down 14%, while violent offenses dropped 6%. Violence fell in seven of the eight cities, led by the 20% plunge in Irvine.

ANAHEIM

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 14 15 7 Rape 81 100 24 Robbery 978 812 -17 Assault 998 1,037 4 Violent total 2,071 1,964 -5

*--*

ANAHEIM

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 2,698 2,270 -16 Larceny 7,550 5,924 -22 Vehicle theft 2,351 1,972 -16 Property total 12,599 10,166 -19 Crime total 14,670 12,130 -17

*--*

COSTA MESA

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 1 3 -- Rape 22 32 46 Robbery 158 145 -8 Assault 194 191 -2 Violent total 375 371 -1

*--*

COSTA MESA

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 892 613 -31 Larceny 3,531 3,106 -12 Vehicle theft 615 545 -11 Property total 5,038 4,264 -15 Crime total 5,413 4,635 -14

*--*

FULLERTON

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 5 2 -- Rape 26 30 15 Robbery 201 157 -22 Assault 253 248 -2 Violent total 485 437 -10

*--*

FULLERTON

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 930 783 -16 Larceny 3,110 2,389 -23 Vehicle theft 721 587 -19 Property total 4,761 3,759 -21 Crime total 5,246 4,196 -20

*--*

GARDEN GROVE

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 5 3 -- Rape 34 22 -35 Robbery 309 276 -11 Assault 498 509 2 Violent total 846 810 -4

*--*

GARDEN GROVE

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 1,229 1,186 -3 Larceny 3,245 2,895 -11 Vehicle theft 1,158 1,028 -11 Property total 5,632 5,109 -9 Crime total 6,478 5,919 -9

*--*

HUNTINGTON BEACH

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 0 5 -- Rape 26 34 31 Robbery 194 111 -43 Assault 391 493 26 Violent total 611 643 5

*--*

HUNTINGTON BEACH

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 1,629 1,419 -13 Larceny 4,161 3,636 -13 Vehicle theft 904 743 -18 Property total 6,694 5,798 -13 Crime total 7,305 6,441 -12

*--*

IRVINE

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 1 1 -- Rape 22 10 -55 Robbery 65 44 -32 Assault 186 165 -11 Violent total 274 220 -20

*--*

IRVINE

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 837 860 3 Larceny 2,647 2,264 -15 Vehicle theft 332 346 4 Property total 3,816 3,470 -9 Crime total 4,090 3,690 -10

*--*

ORANGE

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 1 17* -- Rape 30 29 -3 Robbery 177 106 -40 Assault 354 386 9 Violent total 562 538 -4

*--*

ORANGE

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 878 701 -20 Larceny 2,019 1,725 -15 Vehicle theft 627 537 -14 Property total 3,524 2,960 -16 Crime total 4,086 3,498 -14

*--*

SANTA ANA

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 46 27 -41 Rape 62 91 47 Robbery 1,178 978 -17 Assault 945 920 -3 Violent total 2,231 2,016 -10

*--*

SANTA ANA

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 1,822 1,605 -12 Larceny 6,501 5,748 -12 Vehicle theft 2,659 2,681 1 Property total 10,982 10,034 -9 Crime total 13,213 12,050 -9

*--*

TOTAL

*--*

Violent Crimes 1996 1997 % change Murder 73 73 -- Rape 303 348 15 Robbery 3,260 2,629 -19 Assault 3,819 3,949 3 Violent total 7,455 6,999 -6

*--*

TOTAL

*--*

Property Crimes 1996 1997 % change Burglary 10,915 9,437 -14 Larceny 32,764 27,687 -15 Vehicle theft 9,367 8,439 -10 Property total 53,046 45,563 -14 Crime total 60,501 52,559 -13

*--*

* FBI reports 17 murders in Orange but local police make the total 14

Sources: FBI, Orange Police Department