Crime rates down in Surf City

Danette Goulet and Bryce Alderton

Crime rates in Huntington Beach dropped a fraction last year, while

most large cities in Orange County saw significant increases -- some in

the double digits.

While neighboring cities such as Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Fullerton

experienced a jump in crime rates of 16%, 12% and 11%, Surf City’s numbers dropped by 0.3% from 2000 to 2001, according to crime statistics

released Monday by Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s office.

Violent crimes dropped 9.3% in the same period. They include homicide

and aggravated assault.

It was the second year in a row without a homicide for the city, said

Sgt. Gary Meza.

“We’re doing really well statistics-wise for a city with over 200,000

people,” he added.

The almost 10% decrease in violent crimes in Huntington Beach is

significant, Meza said.

“It’s a safe community where people are involved,” he said. “People

report something when they see it so it makes us more active and people

see that.”

Meza credits the city’s drop in violent crimes and relative stable

total-crime rates to the police department’s community policing, where

officers will speak with residents after the officers have investigated

such crimes as a suspected burglary, Meza said.

“If officers are out on a burglary call, they’ll take care and talk to

people afterward and ask, ‘What’s going on in your neighborhood?”’ Meza

said. “And it’s not just crimes but anything we may be able to do to

impact them.”

But the report wasn’t without a downside.

Property crimes in the city increased by 6.8%, a number thatincludes

burglary and vehicle theft.

It also includes identity theft, which Meza said is becoming more

prevalent.

Mayor Debbie Cook was unexcited about the numbers.

“To me it just indicates that the economy overall is worse than it was

a year or two ago and it’s just cyclical,” said Cook, who added she

didn’t feel Huntington Beach was particularly comparable to other large

cities in Orange County.