Crime in O.C. Up First Time in a Decade

After falling for a decade, crime in Orange County’s largest cities rose during the first six months of this year, propelled by a surge in car thefts, robberies and homicides.

The nearly 10% jump in crime marks the end of a record nine straight years of declines. It means that Orange County is now falling into line with the rest of California, which saw offenses inch up 3%, according to crime data released Wednesday.

Police officials and criminologists have been predicting for more than a year that a downturn in the economy and rising numbers of teenagers reaching their crime-prone years could cause problems.

“Sooner or later we knew it was going to happen,” said Gilbert Geis, professor emeritus of UC Irvine’s department of criminology, law and society. “It can only go down so far, and then it’s going to go up.”

The new figures, compiled by the state Department of Justice, show sudden rises in crime across the board, from violent offenses such as murder and robbery to property crimes such as theft and burglary.

Overall, vehicle thefts jumped 29%, with nearly 900 more cars stolen between January and June of this year than in the same period last year. Burglaries in the county’s largest cities increased 4%, while robberies rose 13%. The number of murders rose from 15 last year to 24 this year.

Police officials said they noticed the uptick in crime before the latest figures became available and have been scrambling to address the causes:

* In Garden Grove, officers recently met with bank tellers and security guards to warn them of a rash of robberies countywide at branches housed in supermarkets. Officials said they hope the rash has halted with the arrest two months ago of the alleged “Gone in 60 Seconds” bandits, a group suspected in at least six heists.

* In Santa Ana, where car thefts soared 55%, police officers have formed a special task force dedicated to carrying out surveillance on suspected car thieves. The department last month also launched a campaign to educate drivers on protecting their cars.

* In Anaheim, where vehicle thefts rose 16%, police officers are busier than ever checking car license plates as they patrol the streets.

“They’re very aggressive in looking for those cars and trying to find out who has them so they can get to the root of the problem,” said Anaheim Sgt. Rick Martinez.

Significant increases in car thefts were reported in every one of the county’s largest cities.

Investigators with the county’s auto-theft task force attributed the rise to joy riding. More stolen cars are being found dumped once they run out of gas, said California Highway Patrol Lt. Kenn Rosenberg, who coordinates the task force.

That, he said, would indicate that vehicles are being swiped by thieves taking advantage of an unlocked door or an open window rather than by professionals intending to sell the vehicles.

The trend, he said, is probably fueled by the population’s growing numbers of 15-to-25-year-olds, generally viewed as the most crime-prone age group. The worsening economy, Rosenberg added, will leave more youngsters without a set of wheels of their own.

“With harder times and more layoffs, crime goes up, and that’s basically what we’re seeing,” he said.

Police said another cause for concern has been a rise in killings, particularly those involving gangs. In Santa Ana, detectives said the 10 gang-related slayings recorded so far this year is already double those recorded during the first six months of 2000.

Police officials acknowledged that the increase comes at a bad time for the department, which in recent months was forced to slash a special gang-suppression force that worked weekends because of the loss of a federal grant.

But officials also noted that gang killings are still running far below the levels of a decade ago. At that time, gang slayings hit an annual peak of 48, and detectives dealt with multiple killings on the same night.

“It’s nothing close to what it used to be,” said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Baltazar De La Riva. “Crime has been going down for several years . . . so we just have to be prepared when it goes up.”

Other violent crimes countywide show declines, according to the latest numbers. Rapes fell 8%, from 160 to 147. And assaults dropped 9%, from 1,711 to 1,550.