Surf City’s a safe city

Andrew Edwards

The numbers are in, and Huntington Beach once again ranks as one of

the nation’s 10 safest large cities.

Surf City was knocked out of the top 10 last year when the FBI

released nationwide crime figures for cities with a population of

100,000 or more, but numbers released on May 24 show Huntington Beach

had the seventh-lowest crime rate despite a slight jump in the number

of crimes reported in 2003.

“It’s great, and I think it’s indicative of a great police

department,” Councilman Dave Sullivan said.

Police, however, credit residents for helping make the city among

the safest large cities because they are quick to call police when

they suspect wrongdoing, Huntington Beach Lt. Janet Perez said.

“The overwhelming majority of people in this city will report

crime,” she said, adding that vigilant residents can prevent minor

incidents from erupting into major crimes.

Volunteers who contribute about 40,000 hours of service to the

department annually, are also a big help to police, Police Chief Ken

Small said.

Members of the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program have duties that

include checking houses when homeowners are on vacation, assisting

police at sobriety checkpoints and fingerprinting.

“They do things that police officers might otherwise do, so the

officers can be able to concentrate on visibility, enforcement and

responding to calls,” Small said.

The rankings are based on the FBI statistics contained in the

preliminary Uniform Crime Report, which tracks crime throughout the

country. The report tracks eight types of crimes: murder, rape,

robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, vehicle theft and

arson. In Huntington Beach, 411 violent crimes were reported in 2003,

compared with 339 in 2002. Perez said the upswing was partially the

result of an increase in bank robberies, although some crimes

classified as thefts in the past are now being classified as

robberies.

There were three murders reported in both 2002 and 2003, while the

number of rapes went up from 36 to 44.

Reported robberies and assaults account for most violent crimes in

Huntington Beach. In 2003, 101 robberies were reported, up from 84 in

2002. Aggravated assaults increased from 216 to 263.

In 2003, 961 burglaries were reported, compared with 856 the

previous year. Vehicle thefts dropped from 475 to 441, and thefts

stayed almost the same. In 2003, 2,716 thefts were reported, only one

more than in 2002.

The figures are designed to be used by police to help them plan

crime prevention strategies, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said. If a

city saw a large increase in one crime, like car theft, the city’s

police department could better assign officers to handle that

problem.

But since FBI statistics are not compiled until months after

crimes are committed, Huntington Beach police rely on their own

records for planning, Perez said. The FBI numbers can, however, give

people a good impression of whether police are getting the job done,

she said.

“The public needs to know how the police are doing, how the police

department responds to crime, and the numbers are a good gauge of

that,” she said.

The low crime rate results in a healthy business climate, Chamber

of Commerce chairman Charlie Bunten said.

“I believe it does attract business, and it helps the real estate

market, Bunten said. “People want to live in a safe city.”

Across the country, Southern California emerges as one of the

safest regions in America. Of the 10 safest cities of 100,000 or

more, seven are located in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Overall, crime dropped in the United States, violent crimes went down

by 3.2% and property crime dipped by 0.1% in 2003. Murders, however,

went up by 1.3%.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers education and crime. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7177, (949) 494-4321 or andrew.edwards@latimes.com.