Crime in Costa Mesa continues to drop

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Continuing the nationwide trend of declining crime

statistics, overall crime in the city was down by about 7% during the

first half of this year, compared with the same period in 1999, according

to numbers released this week by the FBI.

There were fewer violent crimes this year, except for cases of

forcible rape. That number went up from eight last year to 13 this year.

There were four murders during the first six months of last year

compared with none from January to June this year. Robberies were down

from 49 to 33, and aggravated assaults saw a slight decline from 82 to

79. Larceny, which includes thefts, dipped from 1,312 to 1,209, and arson was down from nine to six.

The FBI tracks only the above mentioned crimes. The bureau releases

the numbers each year for cities with a population of more than 100,000,

which left Newport Beach out of the picture, said Laura Bosley, FBI

spokeswoman in Los Angeles.

Nationwide, both violent crimes and property crimes dropped by 0.3%,

the report said. Regionally, there was a 1.9 % decline in crime in the

Northeast part of country, 0.9% in the West and 0.7 % in the Midwest.

Crime reportedly went up in the South by 1.2 %.

The FBI’s uniform crime report is based on data submitted by city

police departments from January through June of this year and last.

Costa Mesa has seen a downward trend in crime over the last 10 years,

said Costa Mesa Police Chief David Snowden. And it’s been possible

because of a successful partnership between the police and the community,

he said.

The department also has a good record with “clearance rates” --

solving crimes quickly and effectively, Snowden said.

He said, however, that numbers are not accurate indicators that can

gauge the effectiveness or efficiency of a police department.

“For example, you can’t prevent rape or murder,” Snowden said. “Those

numbers vary from year to year. They’re unpredictable.”

INFO BOX:

COSTA MESA

January to June 2000:

Murder: 0

Forcible rape: 13

Robbery: 33

Aggravated assaults: 79

Burglary: 194

Larceny: 1,209

Auto theft: 195

Arson: 6

January to June 1999:

Murder: 4

Forcible rape: 8

Robbery: 49

Aggravated assaults: 82

Burglary: 220

Larceny: 1,312

Auto theft: 212

Arson: 9