Violent-Crime Rate Decreases in 5 Major Cities : Law enforcement: Decline bucks a statewide trend. Better cooperation from residents, targeting of career criminals and fewer youths in the county are cited as possible reasons.

For the first time since 1987, state officials on Thursday reported that violent crime in Orange County’s major cities decreased last year, bucking a longtime and continuing statewide trend.

Big-city police chiefs across the county attributed the decrease to various factors, ranging from increased law enforcement efforts aimed at arresting career criminals, to better cooperation from residents.

Criminologists said the decrease may also be due in part to a demographic shift that is occurring in Orange County, which has witnessed a decline in the percentage of youths in the 15- to 29-year-old age group that account for a disproportionate share of violent crimes.

The preliminary crime figures, which reflect the first nine months of 1992 compared to the same time period in 1991, showed a decrease in the number of reported murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults in six Orange County cities with populations exceeding 100,000.

All of those cities--Fullerton, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim and Garden Grove--experienced actual declines in the totals of those violent crimes, as reported by their police departments to the office of the state attorney general. The state was unable to include the serious-crime figures for Huntington Beach because that city’s police department had not yet supplied the figures to the state.

Many police chiefs emphasized that residents who report crimes are among their greatest weapons for combatting crime.

“In an era of fewer resources and increased demands, I don’t think you can be successful without cooperation” from residents, said Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters, whose city reported 3% fewer violent crimes.

Garden Grove Police Chief Stanley L. Knee said his department values outreach programs so that residents are more likely to report crimes.

“I think there is under-reporting (of crimes) . . . because of the public’s perception of law enforcement,” he said. “Perhaps they don’t know how to file a report, or if they are burglarized several times you may feel it’s not worth it to report it to the police.”

The preliminary and partial crime figures released Thursday were prepared for use by state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, who, in his second annual State of the Public Safety speech in Sacramento, urged local, state and federal governments to spare law enforcement from budget cuts. Final statewide crime statistics for 1992 will be available in March, said a spokesman in the attorney general’s office.

Last year, several cities throughout the state and in Orange County were forced to make cutbacks or freeze hiring at police departments to help deal with reduced funding from the state.

Possible budget cuts this fiscal year are already weighing heavily on the minds of several police chiefs in Orange County. They complain that their departments are continually forced to do more work with fewer people.

“Taking what we’ve been faced with, particularly in Orange County with the economic downturn and the number of people who have faced job loss, that usually has an impact on crime,” said Irvine Police Chief Charles S. Brobeck, who is trying this year to fill three police officer positions which were frozen last year.

The police chiefs and criminologists said they had no ready explanation why Orange County appears to be bucking the statewide trend.

Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana--cities with continual problems with felony assaults--each reported decreases.

Some county police officials said they are increasing efforts to track and try to prevent crimes by juveniles.

“I think what we worry most about in Garden Grove is turning the corner on youth violence,” Knee said. Violence committed by young men and women, especially gang members, accounts for many of that city’s robberies and assaults, Knee said.

Bryan Vila, a criminologist at UC Irvine, said the slight dip in violent-crime figures for Orange County coincides with a slightly smaller percentage of residents ages 15 to 29, a group that he said accounts for roughly half of the violent crime nationwide.

Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy said he was encouraged by the crime figures. But “at the same time I say it knocking on wood because as you well know, it can all change in a heartbeat on you.”

Big-City Crime Drops Crime in Orange County’s largest cities decreased during the first nine months of 1992 compared to 1991. The six crime categories that make up the California Crime Index--murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and car theft--dropped nearly 2%. Huntington Beach reported its statistics too late to be included. January-September percentage change Anaheim: -2.5 Fullerton: +2.4 Garden Grove: +0.5 Irvine: +2.0 Orange: -5.8 Santa Ana: -3.5 Six-city total: -1.9 In the three cities with overall increases, property crimes accounted for the change. Violent crimes decreased for the period in all six cities.

Violent 1991-92 Property 1991-92 crimes % change crimes % change Anaheim 1,301 -11.3 5,481 -0.2 Fullerton 531 -10.5 2,205 +6.0 Garden Grove 733 -9.1 2,941 +3.2 Irvine 106 N/C 1,265 +2.2 Orange 409 -3.1 1,837 -6.4 Santa Ana 2,346 -3.0 5,976 -3.7

Rates Decreased, Too Although three cities reported overall increases in the six-crime index, the rate per thousand residents dropped in all six. Only the property crime rates in Fullerton and Garden Grove increased.

Violent crimes Property crimes 1991 1992 1991 1992 Anaheim 5.4 4.7 20.1 19.6 Fullerton 5.1 4.5 18.0 18.8 Garden Grove 5.6 4.9 19.7 19.8 Irvine 1.0 0.9 11.1 11.1 Orange 3.8 3.6 17.4 16.0 Santa Ana 8.1 7.7 20.7 19.6

Sources: California attorney general; California Department of Finance