Slayings Taper Off in Most of County

The small jump in Orange County killings last year doesn’t appear to be materializing into a trend, according to law enforcement agencies.

In 1999, Orange County homicides rose for the first time in seven years--7% to 60. But so far this year, most police departments report declines in murders as well as other violent crimes.

The one exception was Santa Ana, the county’s largest city, which has had 16 homicides so far this year, compared with 13 in all of 1999.

“We’re concerned that we have an increase in homicides, but we have to look at the overall picture,” said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna. “Most [homicides] are crimes of passion, and there’s nothing the police can do to prevent those.”

Luna said there have been four gang-related slayings, continuing a decade-long decline.

“We can only go so low,” he said. “We’re not going to let our guard down, but realistically, we have to realize we’re never going to be crime-free.”

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Other Orange County cities are experiencing significantly fewer killings this year than last.

Anaheim has recorded eight homicides so far this year, compared with 12 at this point in 1999.

In Garden Grove, killings rose from seven in 1998 to 11 in 1999. So far this year, Garden Grove has had only three homicides.

Other cities are seeing a similar pattern.

Huntington Beach had no killings in 1988, five in 1999 and none so far this year.

In Westminster, there have been two homicides so far this year, compared with five at the same time in 1999. Total violent crimes in the city are also down this year.