Crime Lab Keeps Huntington Safe

* On Sept. 13, you printed a letter from Charles Montero, a resident of Huntington Beach, who was wondering why the city was spending several hundred thousand dollars to have its own DNA lab.

Montero wonders if crime is on the upswing and if Huntington Beach is still a safe place to live. Here are some interesting facts in that regard:

(1) For the last 10 years, Huntington Beach has consistently been in the top 5% of the nation’s safest cities, and several times it has been judged to be America’s safest;

(2) The Huntington Beach City Council is not renowned for spending frivolous bucks on its police officers. The DNA lab is not an ego trip. Actually, it is an important crime-fighting tool, similar to the Huntington Beach police helicopter coverage.

Other than the Sheriff’s Department, Huntington Beach is the only Orange County police agency with a crime lab. That in-house capability provides the means to quickly gather, analyze and present exceptional evidence to the district attorney. That equals a major crime deterrent. Why is that? Well, it can take months to get DNA results back from the Sheriff’s Department, enough time for a criminal to make bail, to pull more jobs, or to leave town.

The Huntington Beach crime lab/DNA capability tips the scales--it provides positive evidence that can keep the criminal in jail. These increased risks are known, and they cause criminals to bypass Huntington Beach in favor of easier pickings. Yes, Huntington Beach will continue to be one of America’s safest cities thanks to its police officers, who now [will] have a DNA lab.

JOHN HILL

Huntington Beach