Report Ranks Santa Ana Near Bottom in Solving Crimes

Santa Ana is among the 10 large cities nationwide with the lowest rate of making arrests for violent crimes, according to a review of FBI statistics.

The city of about 300,000 ranked sixth for unresolved cases in 1994. The Las Vegas metropolitan area topped the list, followed by Detroit, Buffalo, San Francisco and Miami. Sacramento was seventh and was the only other California city on the list of 10.

Santa Ana police officials say the statistics don’t tell the whole story of Orange County’s largest city, which has more gangs and murders than any other in the county.

“It’s just a war out there,” Police Chief Paul Walters said Monday. “Gang-related crimes are the most difficult to solve and prosecute. Often, the witnesses, and in some cases the victims, are very uncooperative and unwilling to work with us.”

The chief said crimes involving gangs generally take longer to investigate--and clear--than other offenses.

He also cited the city’s large transient population as a hindrance, and noted that Santa Ana has more than 50 outstanding arrest warrants for murder suspects--more than any other city in the county.

“It’s not like we don’t know who it is, it’s that we haven’t caught them,” Walters said.

A review of FBI statistics showed that 3,079 violent crimes were reported in Santa Ana in 1994 and that 814 cases were cleared, meaning at least one suspect was arrested or was being prosecuted.

The arrests made up 26% of Santa Ana’s cases, according to the review of FBI statistics done by Associated Press. The study included U.S. cities with populations of 250,000 or more. FBI officials confirmed Monday that the figures were correct.

Authorities define violent crime as murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery.

For Alfonso Olivos, the unsolved murder of his brother is a haunting reminder of the family’s loss.

“There’s no closure,” said Olivos, 53, of Irvine, whose 32-year-old brother was gunned down by a stranger nearly seven years ago at the drive-through entrance of a Santa Ana taco shop.

Members of Los Amigos, a Latino community group based in Santa Ana, have repeatedly criticized Santa Ana police in recent months, contending that investigators do not investigate gang-related cases as rigorously as other crimes.

“We’re worried that if there is a gang tie, it lessens the interest,” said Amin David of Los Amigos, whose group held vigils for most of the 74 homicide victims in Santa Ana last year. “We’re worried that the mentality of the department might be that these individuals are expendable.”

Police officials said there is no validity in David’s claim.

“Investigators try as hard as they can, given many, many obstacles they are faced with,” said Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Helton.

Although the clearing rate of violent crime was among the lowest in the nation in 1994, Santa Ana’s overall crime rate dropped during 1995.

The number of violent crimes decreased by 18% in 1995 and gang-related violence was down about 5%, Helton said.

Hugh Foster, director of the criminal justice training center at Golden West College’s police academy, said he considers the drop in crime more significant than the clearance rate for the previous year.

“The important thing is that the crime rate has gone down in Santa Ana,” he said. “As far as the clearing rate, that is more a reflection of specific problems in Santa Ana rather than the police’s ability to solve them.”

Foster also cited the city’s transient population as a problem for police.

“When you have a lot of the people committing crime who are not residents of the community, the statistical data is going to reflect that,” Foster said. “You probably see the same cycle effect with beach or recreational communities, where at certain times of the year you tend to have more nonpermanent types of individuals.”

John Brewster, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana, said violence is directly correlated with the population of teenagers. The city’s population is one of the youngest in America, Brewster said.

“Violence has become more of an alternative to solve problems among kids than it ever was before,” said Brewster, whose club serves 26,000 youngsters.

Times staff writer Lee Romney contributed to this report.