Long Beach : State Statistics Cause More Confusion on Crime Rates
The 1991 Long Beach crime statistics became even more confusing when the California Department of Justice released its figures, showing that the number of major crimes went down citywide by 2.7%, not .2% as reported by the city.
Although the state statistics are based on monthly reports provided by the Long Beach Police Department, the numbers vary from those released by City Hall earlier this year.
The city’s figures also conflicted with statistics issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for the area of Long Beach that deputies patrol.
The state statistics show that from 1990 to 1991, major crimes decreased by a higher percentage in most categories when compared to figures released by the city. For example, Long Beach police reported that murders decreased 9.2%, but the state figures show murders decreased by 11.3 %.
“That is really confusing, I have to admit,” said Joe Rouzan, deputy city manager. “Something doesn’t make sense here.”
In recent months, Rouzan had been charged with looking into other discrepancies in the city’s 1991 crime statistics, which apparently have been skewed by differences in reporting practices between the Long Beach Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department. Both are working on a new procedure for reporting crime figures, Rouzan said.
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