FBI report: Crime ticked up in some Orange County cities last year

Violent and property crimes ticked upward in many Orange County cities last year, according to the FBI’s annual report released this week, but overall remained near the historic lows of recent years.

Local crime rates among Orange County communities in 2017 were slightly out of step with the national trend – which saw modest drops in both violent and property crimes – but were largely in line with statewide crime rates.

Most local cities last year saw a slight uptick in crime compared to 2016, or remained flat. But those crime rates are still a far cry from peaks in the late 1980s and early 1990s, experts noted.

“Violent crime rates are essentially flat, property crime rates have declined a little bit, crime is still low in the United States overall,” said Emily Owens, an associate professor of criminology, law & society at UC Irvine. “We are still in a historic low in terms of violent crime and property crime.”

Among the four largest cities in the county, the number of violent crimes rose slightly in Santa Ana, Anaheim and Irvine, and jumped higher in Huntington Beach. The number of property crimes decreased slightly in Anaheim, Irvine and Huntington Beach, while rising slightly in Santa Ana.

For the 13th year in a row, Irvine touted itself as the safest city of its size – more than 250,000 residents or more – in the country. The FBI itself cautions against using the annual statistics for ranking purposes.

Over a five-year span between 2012 and 2017, the number of violent crimes rose in about two-thirds of Orange County cities, while property crimes dropped in more than half. The picture was more mixed going back 10 years, with about half the cities showing increases in both categories and half showing drops.

Comparing violent crime rates is complicated by the FBI in 2013 revising the definition of rapes included in their statistics, leading to a significant jump in the number of incidents included in the annual reports, pushing up significantly the number of violent crimes reported by some communities.

Some communities have seen a steady drop in violent crime.

Anaheim, which reported 1,423 incidents of violent crime in 2007, saw that number drop to 1,253 in 2017. According to Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt, that included a 53 percent drop in gang-related crimes, allowing the department to focus on community policing efforts involving residents and businesses, and to devote resources to other areas. Wyatt noted that according to the 2017 numbers, Anaheim was tied with Lexington, Kentucky for third lowest crime rate for cities with at least 300,000 residents.

“The job has shifted significantly,” Wyatt said. “Before we were just crime fighters. Now there is stuff like the homeless issue or the number of mental health issues were are facing.”

In other cities, crime rates have fluctuated. In Santa Ana, the number of violent crimes dropped from 1,947 in 2007 to 1,334 in 2012, but has since risen to 1,640 in 2017.

“We don’t like to see even the slightest increases in any crime category,” David Valentin said. “We continuously strive to be a responsive department that is strategically and effectively looking to address crime patterns as reported by and in partnership with our community members.”

Owens said the relatively lower crime rates in recent years compared to past decades have allowed police agencies to be less reactive than in the past.

“I think that has led to an interesting position for law enforcement officers, who have been able over the past 10 years to think about better policing and smarter policing,” Owens.