Crime in Long Beach Drops 6.3% for 1996, Police Say
Continuing a five-year trend in Long Beach, fewer crimes were reported last year than in 1995, according to a police summary released Friday.
Among the exceptions, however, were reported homicides, petty theft and arson, which rose in 1996.
The annual summary by Long Beach Police Chief Robert M. Luman indicates that 43,674 crimes were reported in all categories last year, which represents a 6.3% drop from 1995 and 21.9% decline since 1991.
The greatest reductions in reported crimes occurred in the categories of auto burglary, grand theft and bike theft, all of which fell by nearly 25%, the report said.
Luman said that less than half of the year’s 34 homicides were gang-related. His report also stated that last year’s 18.7% increase in homicides was due to an unusually high number of incidents in early 1996.
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