By the Numbers: 2012 Long Beach Shootings Mapped...And Ranked By Council Districts

(Feb. 22, 2013) -- As part of our continuing coverage, LBREPORT.com has mapped the locations of all shootings in Long Beach during 2012.

LBREPORT.com also provides the 2012 shooting map alongside a map displaying all shootings in Long Beach in 2011 (data which LBREPORT.com published last year).

LBREPORT.com also provides a ranking of Long Beach Council districts in terms of the number of shootings experienced by their residents during 2012, highest to lowest, with caveats below.

LBPD's shooting data indicated locations by the "100 block" of various streets. If a shooting was on a street on the border of Council districts, we chose not to quibble about which side of the street the person was shot. Shootings affect neighborhoods, not specific addresses...and associated police activity affects residents of both districts. Accordingly, on streets bordering two Council districts, for ranking purposes we allocated the shooting between the two bordering districts (hence some "half" shootings when totaled).

LBPD's data included, and our maps on this page reflect, all "hit" shootings (victim wounded or killed), "no hit" shootings and "246" shootings (refers to CA Penal Code section pertaining to shootings at an inhabited house, occupied building or occupied vehicle).

Using this data, GIS mapping expert and neighborhood advocate Jennifer Gomez produced the maps, tables and Council district rankings you see on this page. In other words, the underlying data are from LBPD, but all maps, Council district rankings and tables below were independently produced by LBREPORT.com.

For a pdf of the images, click on any of the images.

Mapping Long Beach's shootings and deriving Council district data were challenging tasks. Bureaucratic federal crime statistics include shootings in a general category of "aggravated assaults" (which include other crimes besides shootings). We believe Long Beach news consumers want to know -- and the public has a right to know -- where LB's 2012 shootings were...and weren't.

We accompany these materials with context and caveats.

Council district lines are political and thus to some extent inherently arbitrary, but since elected officials routinely seek credit for what takes place in their districts, we think it's appropriate to report crime by the Council districts that Councilmembers were elected to represent.

LBPD data listed two shootings as "shooting - homicide" rather than "shooting - murder." (There can be a distinction: every murder is a homicide but not necessarily vice versa). We've asked LBPD to help clarify the terminology as applied to the shooting data; a response is pending; we've shown them with red triangles as murders subject to revision if we hear differently. LBPD reported 30 murders in Long Beach in 2012 and the shooting data indicates at least 23 shootings were fatal (some murders were by means other than shootings).

Like an ultrasound or an x-ray, the images above are less than precise...but they are useful for analysis and interpretation. We invite our readers' interpretation and analysis...and we will continue to refine and update data as we receive it.

Finally, and very important: crime statistics reflect real people and neighborhoods victimized by crime in the City of Long Beach. They are not just numbers. They are people.

Beyond those directly victimized, residents and businesses in crime-impacted areas have likely experienced streets blocked off by police vehicles, helicopters whirring overhead or may have been prevented from entering or leaving their neighborhoods by crime scene tape. Neighbors who've seen neighbors victimized may now take steps, some costly, others burdensome, to avoid becoming a victim as well. Their quality of life is impacted by what takes place around them even though they're not counted in the statistics below.

LBREPORT.com welcomes your response to this data. Let us know in what part of town you are (major cross-streets are fine), who your Councilmember is and what voted actions you want him or her to take in response to this data.

Use our Facebook and Disqus comment systems below to share your views...and feel free to let your friends and neighbors know about this page (via Facebook, Twitter or email).

And watch for additional crime data coming...on LBREPORT.com.