Crime Rates Continue Record 7-Year Plunge

Crime plummeted nationwide in 1998 for a record seventh straight year, with Los Angeles boasting an even steeper decline than the rest of the country, according to FBI figures released Sunday.

Throughout all regions of the country, in cities and rural areas alike, fewer Americans were robbed, burglarized, assaulted, raped or murdered last year than the year before, the FBI data showed.

The incidence of serious crime dropped in all of Orange County’s large cities except Orange in 1998, with serious crimes in Costa Mesa tumbling 15% and in Anaheim, 14%. Overall, serious crime in the county’s largest cities fell 8%.

The latter two cities, along with Huntington Beach, outpaced a national decline of 7%. The city of Orange saw a 3% increase in serious crimes, most notably robbery. However, the number of murders and rapes fell.

In Los Angeles, the number of serious crimes in the city fell 10.2% last year from 1997. Murders in Los Angeles dropped even more dramatically, falling 26% to a 28-year low of 426. Nationwide, murders fell 8% from the previous year.

Other Southern California cities also showed impressive drop-offs. Norwalk, Burbank, Riverside and San Bernardino registered reductions in serious crime of more than 15%, and Palmdale, Long Beach and other communities saw double-digit declines.

“Today’s report is simply great news,” said Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, the nation’s top law enforcement officer. “For seven straight years, each and every year, serious crime has fallen. That means safer streets, fewer victims and greater peace of mind for all Americans.”

The FBI began collecting crime data nationwide in 1930, but never before has there been such a prolonged period of declining crime, said Mary Victoria Pyne of the bureau’s Uniform Crime Reporting program.

Law enforcement experts credited a variety of factors, including a booming economy and declining unemployment, greater attention to community-based policing, more prison beds and tougher sentencing in some areas through measures such as California’s “three strikes” law. But they stressed that no one factor can explain the downward spiral.

“It’s very difficult to put your finger on what causes a particular increase or decrease,” said Costa Mesa Chief David L. Snowden, whose city saw murders drop from 3 to 1 and rapes decline from 32 to 17. “I’d like to believe that it’s not only the hard work of the men and women of the Police Department, but also increased cooperation from the community in being alert to, and fighting, crime. The community’s effort now in fighting crime is unprecedented in the 33 years I’ve been in the business.”

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters was particularly proud of his area’s numbers--a 4% decline in crime overall--given his city’s challenging circumstances--a very young population, a fast rate of growth and fewer police officers than 12 years ago.

“Yet the crime rate still keeps going down,” he marveled. “It’s at its lowest since 1964. . . . The goal is to work ourselves out of a job. We’re doing pretty well, but we should never be satisfied with the status quo.”

For all the encouraging signs, the new data only underscored the schism between the statistical trends on crime and the perceptions of a public still very skittish over the issue.

Media Fuel Crime Perceptions, Some Say

Although some polls show public fears easing in recent years, a Gallup survey in October found that 56% of those polled believed there was still more crime in the United States than five years earlier.

Such sentiments have helped drive anti-crime and gun control initiatives in Washington and Sacramento, an effort redoubled by the Littleton, Colo., school massacre.

Lt. Anthony Alba, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said the media coverage that surrounds high-profile crimes fuels such perceptions.

“That’s one of [LAPD Chief Bernard Park’s] main concerns, that there’s this erroneous perception that crime is on the rise, out of control. It really is frustrating to all of us in law enforcement,” Alba said.

“The reality is that crime is decreasing, and we should be celebrating that,” he said. “Obviously, the entire department is elated with the news that the statistics continue to drop even below the national average.”

Petty theft, which includes purse-snatching and shoplifting, was the most common crime in Los Angeles, with nearly 80,000 offenses. The total number of petty thefts dipped only slightly in 1998.

Robbery, arson and car theft in Los Angeles all saw huge declines well exceeding national averages. Nationwide, robbery had the biggest decrease of any of the eight crimes of property and violence tracked by the FBI, declining 11%. Auto theft was close behind.

The numbers reflect preliminary FBI crime totals for 1998 from the bureau’s survey of more than 10,000 city, county and state law enforcement agencies.

Final totals, including crime rates per 100,000 inhabitants, showing which cities are considered safest, are due in the fall.

The downward trend held true no matter which region of the country was tabulated, officials said. The West and the Northeast had the biggest overall drop in crime, with each showing an 8% decline.

One of the few blips came in suburban areas, where murders increased slightly in 1998 despite declines in every other type of crime. The issue of crime in the suburbs has drawn particular attention in the wake of the high school massacre in Littleton, a placid suburb of Denver.

With crime on the wane, some departments are turning their attention to preventing today’s youth from becoming tomorrow’s criminals.

Garden Grove, which saw serious crimes drop 5%, opened a Juvenile Justice Center that brings everything from truancy prevention to counseling for teens under one roof.

“We’re trying to make an impression on these kids about what’s going to happen if they keep coming in contact with the police,” Capt. Dave Abrecht said. “And we’re trying to make parents aware of what their kids are doing and who they’re hanging out with.”

But so far in 1999, the good news about crime is continuing. The decline shows no signs of reversing in Los Angeles.

Through early May, LAPD data show that total crime is down 12.9% from a year ago, with burglaries and rapes showing particularly sharp declines. Robberies, assaults and murders are down as well.

“We’re certainly hoping we can keep it going,” Alba said.

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Times staff writer Kate Folmar contributed to this report.

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Safer Streets

Crime in Orange County’s eight largest cities dropped 8% in 1998 from the previous year. The largest decreases came in the four violent crimes, led by the 21% decline in murders. The drop was widespread, with only the city of Orange recording more offenses.

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TOTALS FOR EIGHT Pct. LARGEST CITIES 1997 1998 change Murder 68 54 -21 Rape 348 297 -15 Robbery 2,629 2,205 -16 Assault 3,949 3,401 -14 All violent crimes 6,994 5,957 -15 Burglary 9,437 8,798 -7 Larceny/theft 28,287 26,668 -6 Motor vehicle theft 8,439 7,693 -9 All property crimes 46,163 43,159 -7 ALL CRIMES 53,157 49,116 -8

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Pct. ANAHEIM 1997 1998 change Murder 15 18 - Rape 100 73 -27 Robbery 812 550 -32 Assault 1,037 877 -15 All violent crimes 1,964 1,518 -23 Burglary 2,270 2,085 -8 Larceny/theft 5,924 5,208 -12 Motor vehicle theft 1,972 1,627 -17 All property crimes 10,166 8,920 -12 ALL CRIMES 12,130 10,438 -14

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Pct. COSTA MESA 1997 1998 change Murder 3 1 - Rape 32 17 - Robbery 145 117 -19 Assault 191 158 -17 All violent crimes 371 293 -21 Burglary 613 549 -10 Larceny/theft 3,106 2,583 -17 Motor vehicle theft 545 531 -3 All property crimes 4,264 3,663 -14 ALL CRIMES 4,635 3,956 -15

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Pct. FULLERTON 1997 1998 change Murder 2 2 - Rape 30 31 - Robbery 157 153 -3 Assault 248 243 -2 All violent crimes 437 429 -2 Burglary 783 787 1 Larceny/theft 2,989 2,660 -11 Motor vehicle theft 587 606 -3 All property crimes 4,359 4,053 -7 ALL CRIMES 4,796 4,482 -7

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Pct. GARDEN GROVE 1997 1998 change Murder 3 7 - Rape 22 27 - Robbery 276 220 -20 Assault 509 469 -8 All violent crimes 810 723 -11 Burglary 1,186 921 -22 Larceny/theft 2,895 2,988 3 Motor vehicle theft 1,028 991 -4 All property crimes 5,109 4,900 -4 ALL CRIMES 5,919 5,623 -5

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Pct. HUNTINGTON BEACH 1997 1998 change Murder 5 0 - Rape 34 46 - Robbery 111 156 41 Assault 493 339 -31 All violent crimes 643 541 -16 Burglary 1,419 1,332 -6 Larceny/theft 3,636 3,393 -7 Motor vehicle theft 743 641 -14 All property crimes 5,798 5,366 -7 ALL CRIMES 6,441 5,907 -8

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Pct. IRVINE 1997 1998 change Murder 1 4 - Rape 10 16 - Robbery 44 46 - Assault 165 152 -8 All violent crimes 220 218 -1 Burglary 860 859 * Larceny/theft 2,264 2,151 -5 Motor vehicle theft 346 365 5 All property crimes 3,470 3,375 -3 ALL CRIMES 3,690 3,593 -3

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Pct. ORANGE 1997 1998 change Murder 12 1 - Rape 29 19 - Robbery 106 119 12 Assault 386 366 -5 All violent crimes 523 505 -3 Burglary 701 759 8 Larceny/theft 1,725 1,852 7 Motor vehicle theft 537 476 -11 All property crimes 2,963 3,087 4 ALL CRIMES 3,486 3,592 3

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Pct. SANTA ANA 1997 1998 change Murder 27 21 - Rape 91 68 -25 Robbery 978 844 -14 Assault 920 797 -13 All violent crimes 2,016 1,730 -14 Burglary 1,605 1,506 -6 Larceny/theft 5,748 5,833 1 Motor vehicle theft 2,681 2,456 -8 All property crimes 10,034 9,795 -2 ALL CRIMES 12,050 11,525 -4

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Percent change for some crimes not reported because of small totals

* Less than 1 percent

Source: FBI