Robbery numbers in Costa Mesa continue to climb

Deepa Bharath

An upward trend in robberies has continued into this year due in part

to a series of hotel robberies, crime statistics show.

Orange County Sheriff’s deputies caught the men who they believe

were responsible for the Costa Mesa robberies that occurred in late

December, January and the first part of February, as well as other

hotels elsewhere.

But the numbers released by the Costa Mesa Police Department show

that there were nine robberies in January and 12 so far in February.

Overall, 141 robberies were reported in 2001, 93 in 2002 and 103 in

2003.

This year’s numbers, so far, are within the normal range for the

city, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. John FitzPatrick.

“It’s difficult to pin down a crime trend based on two months’

numbers,” he said. “We would need to look at numbers over a year or

at least six months to identify any definite type of trend.”

Three out of 12 robberies in February were shoplifting incidents

that had to be upgraded to robbery because they involved force,

FitzPatrick said.

“Very few of the incidents actually involved weapons,” he said.

The city hit a high in 2001 in this category that prompted the

department to conduct undercover operations where an officer would

pose as a decoy to attract robbers. Police considered the tactics

successful in reducing street crime, as the number of robberies

dropped to 93 in 2002.

Such operations and occasional stings will continue as and when

needed, FitzPatrick said.

Although 2003 saw an increase, it was not a large rise, he said.

“It went up by 10 incidents, on an average, less than one incident

per month,” FitzPatrick said.

Local business owners feel safe operating in the city despite the

recent hotel robberies, said Ed Fawcett, president of the Costa Mesa

Chamber of Commerce, who used to own hotels in the city.

“Such incidents have always been infrequent here,” he said. “But

the truth is that all businesses have to be aware that it could

happen at any time. You need to worry about it from moment to moment

and businesses definitely need to be prepared.”

Businesses should train their employees to handle any situation,

Fawcett said.

“The primary concern is the safety of employees and customers,” he

said. “Money and everything else is expendable.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

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