Violent crime rises from 2004 to 2005

An FBI report released this week showed that violent crime increased more than 7% during 2005 in Costa Mesa, but city officials said that since those statistics were recorded, crime in the city has dropped.

Compared with numbers in 2004, reported assaults increased by 21.3%, and burglary and thefts from motor vehicles increased by more than 20%, according to the report.

Although any increase in crime is a cause for concern, recent city statistics point to a falling crime rate, Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley said.

“Costa Mesa is a wonderful community that’s safe, and the officers are working out there to make sure it continues to stay that way,” Hensley said.

Since the beginning of the year, crime in Costa Mesa has dropped by 9.6%, Hensley said. When police began seeing rising numbers in crimes, such as property crimes and thefts from vehicles, they took action.

“We were troubled by the numbers that we were seeing,” Hensley said.

The Costa Mesa Police Department assembled a task force that targeted various areas of the city to crack down on car thieves ? so far it’s working, Hensley said.

“Usually these are serial auto thieves, and you make an arrest and the numbers drop,” he said.

Solving property crimes is a two-pronged approach, involving targeted enforcement and a revitalization project of the city’s Westside, Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said.

“I think that long-term, overall, that will improve the city,” Mansoor said.

The statistics published in the FBI report do not include the three homicides recorded in Costa Mesa this year ? one of which was gang-related.

“The homicides that we’ve experienced are very troubling at this point, and it will impact our bottom line next year,” Hensley said.

Costa Mesa police are targeting gangs, which they hope to eradicate within five years.

As for the most recent shooting death, which police said was not gang-related, detectives do not have any information about who may have shot and killed a 38-year-old Costa Mesa man early Saturday.

The FBI’s statistics do not include Newport Beach because the bureau only tracks cities with populations higher than 100,000.

COSTA MESA CRIME FIGURES