Coroner Reports Decline in Violent Deaths, Including Homicides

The number of violent deaths, including homicides, fell slightly in Orange County in 1986, the county coroner’s office reported Thursday.

Homicides declined to 112 last year from a record 132 in 1985, the report said.

Although Santa Ana had more homicides than any other city, as it historically has had, the city showed a slight decline from 36 in 1985 to 34 last year, the report said. Several communities, including Laguna Hills, Yorba Linda, Brea and Rossmoor, had no homicides.

The biggest increase in violent deaths occurred in the accidental category, where the number increased from 308 deaths in 1985 to 344 last year. Accidental deaths include falls, drownings and ingestion of drugs, which accounted for a third of the deaths in the category.

Traffic fatalities decreased, 325 in 1985 and 299 last year. Fatal motorcycle and motor scooter accidents, however, were up slightly, with 84 in 1986 and 82 in 1985.

The number of suicides dropped, 288 in 1985 and 281 last year. Guns were used in more than half the suicides, continuing to be the primary weapon used in self-inflicted deaths, the report said.

The Sheriff-Coroner’s Department reported a total of 13,800 deaths last year, up from 13,050 in 1985.

Also included in the report are crime statistics for areas policed by the Sheriff’s Department. The statistics show that the number of all major crimes, including murder, rape and robbery, occurring within the sheriff’s jurisdiction had increased in 1986.

The biggest increase in reported offenses was for strong-arm robbery, where no weapon is used. The number increased 73.2%, 56 in 1985 and 97 offenses in 1986. The number of robberies with the use of a weapon remained constant at 119.

Rapes increased from 36 in 1985 to 44 last year, a rise of 22.2%. The only decline in criminal offenses was in burglaries of locked vehicles, 1,772 in 1985 and 1,732 last year. However, 29.8% more cars were stolen, 768 in 1985 and 997 last year, the report said.