Review of Fourth policing favorable

June Casagrande

Officials have agreed on a prescription for next year’s Fourth of

July celebration in West Newport: Stay the course.

That was the conclusion of Police Chief Bob McDonell, and it was

enthusiastically echoed by council members and, to their surprise, by

the leader of the opposition, FreeNewport.com spokesman Brian

Clarkson.

“I must give credit where credit is due and thank Chief McDonell,

the Police Department and the City Council for making this arguably

one of the best Fourth of Julys in recent history,” Clarkson said

Tuesday night.

FreeNewport.com had opposed some of the tougher restrictions on

West Newport Fourth of July celebrations, including the prohibition

of liquor deliveries and the tripling of fines for some offenses.

Stopping short of actually supporting those rules, Clarkson

nonetheless joined the chorus of officials who praised their outcome:

a calmer Fourth of July with measurably fewer arrests -- a move

Councilman Tod Ridgeway praised as “classy.”

The discussion took place as part of the annual Police Department

presentation on Fourth of July celebrations in West Newport and

throughout the city. A nine-minute video presentation aired in the

council chambers and broadcast on local cable TV portrayed a far more

serene holiday than did the footage of volatile incidents last year.

McDonell also reviewed the statistics for the holiday: 2003

arrests were down to 103 from last year’s 162 and a staggering 193 in

2001. The total number of citations was 1,224. Despite the increase

of some fines, the cost of policing the area during the holiday

continues to outweigh the income. Contracting extra police personnel

shipped in from many other jurisdictions, added to overtime for

Newport Beach officers, brought the total cost to $142,758. Revenue from fines is estimated to be no more than $120,000.

Though McDonell called the Fourth of July outcome a success, he

cautioned that the potential for someone to get seriously hurt

remains high. To prevent that, he said, the city must use the same

strategy next year and continue to get the word out that Newport

Beach is no longer a place to make trouble on the Fourth.

“We’re getting there,” Mayor Steve Bromberg said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].