Report: Violent crimes rise in Costa Mesa

Violent crime in Costa Mesa rose by more than 15% in the first six months of 2009 when compared with the same period last year, according to statistics released by the FBI.

Between January and June of this year, there have been more robberies, assaults, burglaries and thefts than in the same months in 2008, the semiannual crime report showed.

Police Sgt. Bryan Glass said that with more recent statistics factored in, including data from the July to November period of both years, violent crimes actually decreased. By the end of November, he said, violent crimes were down more than 13% for the year. Property crimes also decreased, Glass said.

Violent crime leaped up 35% in 2008 when compared with 2007, according to an FBI report released earlier this year.

The FBI’s preliminary report counted 171 violent crimes in Costa Mesa for the first half of this year, compared with 145 last year. Because the report compiled statistics only for cities with more than 100,000 residents, data for Newport Beach was not immediately available.

While the totals are higher than last year, the differences appear slight. There were 15 more robberies, 13 more aggravated assaults and 10 more burglaries than last year. While there were 1,560 property crimes in the first six months of last year, there were 1,661 this year.

Conversely, there have been fewer reported rapes and vehicle thefts this year. One person was arrested on suspicion of murder last year, while no one was arrested on that suspicion through June of this year. A local man who was arrested has been charged with murder related to a shooting in September.