Survey Ranks Santa Ana Worst in State for Unsolved Murders

Santa Ana had the worst murder solution rate of California’s 10 largest cities from 1982 to 1986, a statistic that is attributed by one criminologist to the city’s large illegal immigrant population.

Of 150 homicides recorded in the city during that five-year period, 64 went unsolved, according to the state bureau of criminal statistics.

Santa Ana’s dubious distinction first came to light in an article published Sunday in a San Francisco newspaper that cited a study of murder solution rates by James Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

A spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department declined Monday to discuss the statistics. “Presently our homicide unit is compiling information on homicides in Santa Ana since 1982,” Lt. Robert Chavez said. “That information will be made available (today) or on Wednesday.”

Acting Police Chief Eugene B. Hansen did not return a reporter’s telephone call.

Easier Crime to Solve

In a telephone interview Monday, Fox said that homicides tend to be one of the easier crimes for police to solve but that the large presence of undocumented aliens in Santa Ana can make it difficult for police to investigate murders within that community.

With a documented population of around 227,000, Santa Ana may also be home for up to an additional 50,000 illegal aliens, city officials have estimated.

Illegal aliens fear deportation, and many may simply disappear and return to Mexico, Fox said.

“Why would illegal aliens want to get involved with police?” Fox asked. “When police arrive, they are long gone.”

A Santa Ana police sergeant, who asked that his name not be used, agreed with Fox’s assesment. From his conversations with homicide detectives, the sergeant said, the main problems in the city’s murder investigations involve illegal aliens killing other illegal aliens.

“The only people in that bar at 2 in the morning aren’t going to talk about it,” he said. “And the killer splits for Mexico.”

And killings by gang members can be extremely difficult to crack because of language, culture and code of honor differences.

“Some of the (unsolved murders) are gang-related, and those kind are not always easy to solve,” said Thomas Havlena, an Orange County deputy public defender.

So far this year, there have been six gang-related murders in Santa Ana, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. Last year there were seven.

For statistical purposes, a homicide case is considered cleared if the law enforcement agency in its monthly report to the state of crime indexes simply declares the case cleared, said Charlotte Rhea, a research analyst with the state bureau of criminal statistics. That can mean the police have a strong suspect, and does not require that they have necessarily made an arrest, she said.

While Santa Ana topped the list of worst homicide solution rates, it ranked seventh among the state’s 10 most populous cities in its murder rate per 100,000 citizens. From 1982 to 1986, an average of 13.7 people a year were murdered per 100,000 population in the city, compared to 30.6 in Oakland, 26.3 in Los Angeles, and only 5.5 in Anaheim, according to state statistics.

Miami and Detroit led the nation in worst unsolved murder rates from 1982 to 1986 with little more than half being cleared, Fox said. Detroit had the highest murder rate per 100,000 population at 49.1, with Miami second at 41.8.

Fox cautioned that murder solution statistics are often underreported. For bookkeeping reasons, murders that are solved more than a month after the crime tend never to be recorded, he said.

After the police complete a monthly report of crimes, including murders, those figures remain in the state and FBI statistics until an amended form is later filed by the department showing the crime was eventually solved, Fox said. Few departments can be bothered with that extra paperwork, he said.

Typically, two-thirds of murders are solved within 14 hours of the crime, Fox said. “Most murders are solved fairly quickly,” he said, because there is usually an abundance of forensic evidence such as fingerprints, weapons, blood, and because most killers were friends or related to their victims.

“Murder tends to be a crime committed between people who know each other,” he said.

CALIFORNIA HOMICIDE RATES

For California’s 10 largest cities.

Total Homicides

(1982 - 1986)

Los Angeles 4,038 Oakland 531 San Francisco 466 San Diego 450 Long Beach 294 Sacramento 249 San Jose 227 Fresno 198 Santa Ana 150 Anaheim 63

Solution Rate

Total Number % Homicides Solved Solved Santa Ana 150 86 57 San Francisco 466 286 61 Long Beach 294 192 65 Los Angeles 4,038 2,705 67 Anaheim 63 44 70 Oakland 531 377 71 Fresno 198 143 72 Sacramento 249 195 78 San Diego 450 354 79 San Jose 227 182 80

SOURCE: State of California Bureau of Criminal Statistics