Costa Mesa ranks 30th safest, again

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- The city was ranked the 30th safest city in the state on

Monday, but is said to have had the biggest crime increase among the nine

largest cities in the county, according to the 2001 Uniform Crime Report

released by the FBI.

The city’s total crime rate increased by 16.1% in 2001, and crimes per

10,000 residents amounted to 367.9, more than any of the other county

cities with a population of more than 100,000, the report showed. The

numbers showed increases in all categories of violent crime, including

murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The only category

that shows a slight decrease is auto thefts.

But the report is not an accurate reflection of the current crime

situation in the city, said Costa Mesa Police Chief Dave Snowden.

“If you look at the actual numbers instead of the percentages, you’ll

see that we have much less crime than most other cities in the county,”

he said. “When it comes to statistics, you have to read between the

lines.”

Comparing cities using percentages can only lead to widespread panic

by not giving the community a realistic picture, Snowden said. For

example, the city had two murders in 2000 and four in 2001. That shows a

100% increase in murders, but when taken in actual terms is not much of

an increase, he said.

Also, the city has witnessed a decline in most crime categories over

the last seven months, Snowden said.

“We’re definitely going down on violent crime,” he said. “We’re still

one of the safest cities in California.”

But auto thefts and robberies do continue to be a problem, and the

Police Department continues to work hard to fight those issues through

special task force teams and undercover operations, Snowden said. The

department also continues to work to build a solid relationship with the

community, so that people feel comfortable approaching the police with

information, he said.

“Do we know where crime is likely to occur and do we catch the bad

guys? The answer continues to be yes,” he said.

Involving the community has always played a significant role in

controlling crime, said Diane Hill, Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for

the Hall of Fame area.

“I believe the rates would be much higher without Neighborhood Watch,”

she said. “We need to continue to do what we’re doing. We can’t go to

sleep.”

Ed Keane, a Mesa Del Mar resident for 30 years, said the high crime

rates have him worried.

“Out of all those neighboring cities, our crime rate seems to be

higher and that is cause for concern,” he said.

He said he and his neighbors are having problems with people breaking

into cars and several being arrested for drug-related offenses.

“I wouldn’t say I feel as safe as I used to feel,” he said. “I’m a lot

more cautious now than I used to be.”

Orange County cities that placed higher than Costa Mesa included

Mission Viejo, which topped the list, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Orange,

Garden Grove, Anaheim, Santa Ana and Fullerton.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .

COSTA MESA CRIME STATISTICS

2001 2000

Murder 4 2

Forcible rape 28 22

Robbery 155 72

Aggravated assault 203 179

Burglary 554 437

Larceny/Theft 2,595 2,266

Auto theft 482 484

Arson 15 10

Total crimes 4,036 3,472