O.C. Majority Favors Tougher Gun Control : Poll: Fear of crime has two-thirds bucking county’s conservative image to back tighter restrictions.

An overwhelming majority of Orange County residents favor tougher gun control laws to combat violent crime, according to a public opinion survey released Monday.

Concern over the spreading threat of gun violence has prompted local residents, who are typically more conservative than most Californians, to take a more liberal position on gun control, said UC Irvine professor Mark Baldassare, who conducted the poll for the university’s School of Social Ecology.

Two-thirds of county residents said they favor stricter gun control, with almost 50% “strongly” supporting such a policy, according to the 1994 Orange County Annual Survey.

The UCI poll, which has a margin of error plus or minus 3%, asked 1,000 adult residents: “Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose enacting tougher gun control laws as a way of dealing with crime?” A total of 48% said they strongly favored tougher gun control laws, while 18% said they somewhat favored such legislation. Of those polled, 44% also said they were afraid of becoming crime victims.

“With 44% of Orange County residents saying they’re fearful of becoming a crime victim, there is a growing sense here that the people who have the guns are the wrong people,” Baldassare said.

The study, in which respondents rated crime as their greatest concern, suggests that Orange County residents support gun control somewhat more than other Americans, said Baldassare, who noted that a benchmark national poll by the Gallup organization found that 60% of Americans favored gun control in 1989.

The support for gun control “seems to contradict the county’s libertarian philosophy on issues of personal freedom and choice,” he added.

The survey, which was conducted Aug. 19-29, also showed that fear of becoming a crime victim is affecting the way people live in Orange County, discouraging many residents from venturing out of their homes to beaches, malls and even to the movies. “In this respect, Orange County residents are starting to act more like urbanites and less like suburbanites,” he said.

About four in 10 Orange County residents said fear of crime keeps them from enjoying the county’s public parks or beaches, while one-third said they are afraid to go shopping for fear of becoming a crime statistic and one-fourth said they are afraid to go to the movies.

Although most Orange County residents--53%--continue to have confidence in the ability of police to protect them from crime, three out of every four said they have little or no confidence in the ability of the courts to convict and sentence criminals, Baldassare said.

This is the second consecutive year that crime has emerged as the biggest concern of those polled in the annual UCI survey.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said that local residents’ fears of crime are not exaggerated. In areas patrolled by sheriff’s deputies, robberies have increased 5% in 1994 compared to all of 1993, while the number of rapes reported so far this year totals 85, compared to 70 for last year, Martini said.

“I don’t think it’s an unrealistic fear,” Martini said. “The county is becoming more densely populated, and that brings more criminal activity. Unfortunately, we’re seeing more flagrant acts of violence here.”

The biggest increase so far has occurred in aggravated assaults, which have increased 23% this year compared to 1993. Martini said most of the increase is due to a rise in the number of domestic violence cases.

The most recent report from the state attorney general’s office said that violent crime increased in Orange County’s eight largest cities and unincorporated areas during the first six months of 1994, continuing a trend of rising violence that stretches back more than a decade.

In Santa Ana, for example, murders were occurring at a record pace during the first six months of 1994, while Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Orange also reported increases in the number of homicides. A decrease in property crimes, however, caused the overall rate of serious crime to decline slightly.

While violent crime continues to increase in Orange County, national crime statistics show that the violent crime rate across the United States has remained fairly constant over the past 20 years, and has actually decreased slightly since 1982, according to U.S. Department of Justice figures.

Marianne Zawitz, spokeswoman for the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics in Washington, said in 1982 the violent crime rate in the United States was 34.3 per 1,000 population. In 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, the rate had dropped to 32.1 per 1,000 population, Zawitz said.

But during the same period, the number of murder victims killed by handguns increased significantly.

“In 1982, 43.48% of all murder victims were killed by handguns. In 1992, 55% of all murder victims were shot by handguns,” said Zawitz. “The handgun crime rate also increased during the same period. In 1982, four people out of every 1,000 were victims of a crime that included a handgun. In 1992, that figure was 4.5 per 1,000.”

Martini said that homicides investigated by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies have actually decreased in 1994 from last year. There were 14 homicides in the sheriff’s jurisdiction in 1993 and only 12 reported so far this year, Martini said.

The poll revealed that 31% of Orange County residents think crime was the county’s most serious problem, while 18% said jobs and the economy were the most important, and 16% said immigration was a more serious issue.

While residents remain optimistic about the quality of life in Orange County, more than half rated the economy as being no better than “fair.” But only 29% said things are going “badly” in the county, compared to 40% in 1993.

On a brighter note, the poll found satisfaction with the county’s freeways to be the best in 10 years. The survey also found more Orange County residents are ride-sharing, with 76% saying they drive alone to work, down eight points from 1989.

Support for stricter growth control in Orange County is the lowest since 1982, as is concern for the environment. Only 45% of those polled want tighter controls on growth, while only 35% viewed environmental problems as a serious health threat.

Crime Is Biggest Concerns

Crime and the fear of being a victim are uppermost in the minds of Orange County residents as they consider public policy problems. About one adult in three says it is the most serious problem facing the county.

Considering all the public policy issues in Orange County, which of these do you think is the most serious problem?

Crime: 31%

Jobs/economy: 18%

Immigration: 16%

Traffic: 12%

Growth: 9%

Schools: 8%

Other: 6%

Here’s how the percentage mentioning crime has increased:

1985: 6%

1994: 31%

Gun Control a Popular Answer

While nine residents in 10 say crime is at least somewhat of a problem in the county, two in three support stronger gun control laws as one path to dealing with the problem.

In your opinion, how much of a problem is crime in Orange County today?

Big problem: 43%

Somewhat of a problem: 46%

Small problem: 9%

Not a problem: 2%

How much confidence do you have in the ability of the police to protect you from violent crime?

A great deal: 14%

Quite a bit: 39%

Not very much: 38%

None: 8%

Don’t know: 14%

Do you favor or oppose enacting tougher gun control laws as a way of dealing with crime?

Strongly favor: 48%

Somewhat favor: 18%

Somewhat oppose: 12%

Strongly oppose: 18%

Don’t know: 4%

Crime as a Fear Factor

Nearly half of county residents say they are at least somewhat fearful of being victimized in a serious crime.

In general, how fearful would you say you are that you will be the victim of a serious crime?

Very fearful: 7%

Somewhat fearful: 37%

Not too fearful: 38%

Not at all fearful: 18%

“Very/somewhat” fearful:

North: 49%

West: 48%

Central: 48%

South: 35%

Curtailing Activities

How often would you say fear of crime keeps you from going to shopping malls and stores/public parks or beaches/out to movies, restaurants or other entertainment in Orange County?

Malls, Parks, Movies, other stores beaches entertainment Very often 10% 12% 7% Sometimes 21 27 18 Rarely 25 24 27 Never 43 35 47 Don’t know 1 2 1

Quality of Life

Despite widespread concern with crime, county residents think the overall quality of life here is improving. And satisfaction with the county’s freeway system is the highest it has been in a decade:

Thinking about the quality of life in Orange County, how do you think things are going?

Year Very well Somewhat well Badly 1993 8% 52% 40% 1994 13 58 29

As for the Orange County transportation system, which of the following best describes how you feel about the freeways in Orange County?

Satisfied: 20%

Add lanes: 49%

Build more freeways: 31%

Source: 1994 Orange County Annual Survey, UCI