Some Significant Data Absent From City Hall Released Preliminary Crime Stats

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(Jan. 8, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com, which was first (again) to report nearly two weeks ago that Long Beach was on track to record the lowest number of murders since the city began keeping track, now publishes verbatim below a City Hall press release (Jan. 7) confirming this and providing additional preliminary 2014 crime statistics.

We note the absence of pertinent and, in our view, journalistically essential information. Two essential "W"s are missing: the "where" and missing parts of the "what."

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The missing "where." The press release-cited crime statistics are "citywide" which is fine for bureaucratic comparisons but doesn't show "where" of any of the crime categories listed. In terms of violent crime, as LBREPORT.com has previously reported, LB's 2014 murders were disproportionately concentrated in some parts of North Long Beach and some parts of Central Long Beach, The release likewise doesn't show the "where" of shootings, which (our unofficial maps show) are disproportionately concentrated in Central LB and NLB areas similar to murders. In our view, the number and locations of shootings deserve to be disclosed along with murders, since a non-fatal "hit" shooting may be just millimeters away from turning into a murder.
Missing parts of the "what": City Hall's release doesn't separately show the number of shootings, either citywide or geographically. LBPD (and other law enforcement agencies) routinely include shootings within the crime category of "aggravated assaults," which is absolutely accurate (and the required classification under federal crime reporting rules) but doesn't show the number of shootings that comprise aggravated assaults. The release acknowledges that aggravated assaults collectively increased compared to the "five year average" but doesn't give a specific number (so we can compare it year to year) and doesn't show the number of shootings in 2014 compared to 2013.
Missing parts of the "where" re residential burglaries: Although the release indicates residential burglaries have dropped 9.7% citywide, this isn't consistent with what we've heard and seen from residents in a number of neighborhoods, including parts of Los Cerritos, East Long Beach and Southeast Long Beach. It's a matter of public record that 3rd dist. Councilwoman Suzie Price successfully moved that the Council budget $350,000 in LBPD's budget above what management and the Mayor had proposed, specifically to deal with residential burglaries. If residential burglaries are down "citywide," it may mean that residential burglaries are up significantly in some parts of town we can't see yet.

The City of LB's press release text (Jan. 7, 2015) follows verbatim below:

[City released text] Based on preliminary crime data, Long Beach ended 2014 poised to achieve the lowest number of reported violent crimes in 42 years. When compared to 2013, the 2014 violent crime statistics reflect a decrease of 3.2%, with a 17.8% decrease as compared to the 5-year average. Property crime statistics also showed a 4.8% decrease, and a 3.8% decrease in the 5-year average. The Total Part 1 Crime reduction was 4.6%, and 6.3% as compared to the 5-year average.
"This ongoing reduction in crime reflects the City’s unwavering commitment to public safety," noted Mayor Robert Garcia. "Reducing crime is a priority for the entire City, especially our Police Department and its dedicated employees."
In the violent crime category, the Police Department anticipates that the final 2014 statistics, which will be available later this month, will reflect a 30.3% decrease from 2013 in the number of murders -- 23 as opposed to 33 in 2013.*[fn below] This is the lowest number of murders on record since statistics were first compiled in 1969. Fourteen of the 23 were investigated as gang related. The Homicide Detail solved 22 murders in 2014 with a clearance rate of 95.7%. The number of reported rapes and aggravated assaults are expected to show increases when compared to 2013, however, are still below the 5-year average by 7.4% and 8.1% respectively.
In the property crime category, reductions were seen in residential burglary (9.7%), auto burglary (7.6%), arson (36.5%), petty theft over $50 (14.4%) and grand theft auto (13.3%). Increases were seen in commercial burglary (4.5%) and thefts under $50 (14%).
Police Chief Robert Luna attributed the property crime reductions to an increase in community awareness, participation in crime prevention efforts, and to the professionalism and hard work of the men and women of the Long Beach Police Department.
"I am very proud of the efforts and outstanding commitment our employees demonstrate to the community they serve," said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, "We will continue to pursue effective crime reduction while building public trust in 2015. We must work together with other city departments and our community partners in a team effort to accomplish our collective goals of keeping our city safe."
In addition, the City will be undertaking a number of initiatives related to policing. Police Chief Luna stated that efforts are underway to implement a body camera pilot program in the Long Beach Police Department. As part of the Fiscal Year 2015 adopted budget, the city council approved non-recurring funds to support a body camera pilot program. A body-worn camera committee has been underway for approximately one year studying the various operational policies and financial effects of instituting body cameras.
To augment patrol operations, the Police Department deployed additional less-lethal equipment. In 2014, the less lethal beanbag shotgun was replaced with the 40-millimeter less lethal launcher and deployed to the Patrol Divisions allowing for increased accessibility to officers in the field.
The City will also be enhancing the investigatory capabilities of the Citizen's Police Complaint Commission, an independent investigative commission, through the addition of an investigator position. The addition of an investigator position will afford the Commission additional resources to conduct investigations and follow-up on complaints and other business addressed to the Commission.
In 2015, the Police Department will also enhance communication efforts to better explain the City’s extensive review process for any and all use of force incidents, as well as enhance educational information for the public on what to do in the event of contact with a police officer.
L.B.P.D. continued to partner with law enforcement agencies at the local, county, state and federal levels to leverage available resources to impact crime in Long Beach. The Police Department continues to focus attention on the use of social media as a conduit to improving communication with the community, including the GO LBPD mobile application to streamline the community’s access to the Police Department’s social networking tools. To receive information of news stories, alerts and events, visit: www.nixle.com or www.facebook.com/longbeachpd.ca or @LongBeachPD_CA on Twitter.
The final year-end statistics will be available in mid-January on the Police Department website.
[FN text] * The 2014 total murders include two 2013 homicides that were reclassified as murders by the District Attorney’s Office in March 2014; the 2013 total murders include one 2012 homicide that was reclassified as murder by the District Attorney’s Office in December 2013.

Comment: Regarding the press release quote attributed to Mayor Garcia to the effect that the City's (meaning City Hall's) commitment to public safety is "unwavering," LBREPORT.com notes:

From 2009-2014, the Long Beach City Council (which included Garcia as a voting member) voted with few dissents for budgets that eliminated the largest number of sworn police officers for taxpayers within a five year period in LB's more than 100 year history. This came after Mayor Bob Foster sought election in 2006 on a pledge to add 100 officers during his first four years in office, but exited office in 2014 leaving taxpayers with fewer officers than they had when he took office. The City of Long Beach currently provides its taxpayers with a budgeted sworn police level available for routine citywide deployment (not including officers contracted to/restricted to/paid by the Port, Airport, LBCC, LBUSD, LBTransit) roughly equivalent per capita to what Los Angeles would have if it cut over 25% of LAPD's officers.

Mayor Foster's administration began by adding officers as promised and by late 2008, Long Beach reached its highest staffing level in history. However as the economic downturn began, Foster reversed course, ultimately recommending reductions approved by Council majorities that have eliminated more than 20% of LB's formerly budgeted citywide deployable police officers. Other cities weathered the economic downturn without doing this. Part of City Hall's fiscal difficulties resulted after Foster recommended, and the Council with few dissents agreed, to give sizable raises to LB's three major public employee unions. The Foster-recommended raises were in contracts that didn't include pension changes that grassroots taxpayer activists had sought for years. When the economic downturn made the raises unsustainable, Foster recommended (and the unions ultimately agreed) to re-open their contracts and accept what Foster called "pension reforms" that saved City Hall money by applying part of the taxpayer-paid raises to cover increased pension contributions.

In October 2013 (entering the 2014 election cycle), the Council voted to award unbudgeted raises to city management. By December 2013, the Council also began (on Foster's recommendation and backed by Garcia) budgeting sums (that by December 2013 were over $1 million) to pursue building an entirely new Civic Center (using a public-private partnership transaction) without having sought bids for a seismic retrofit of City Hall (relying instead on a city management-proferred cost estimate although independent sources outside City Hall said a retrofit could be done for less cost.)

As Mayor Foster's appointed chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee (since mid-2010), Garcia scheduled no meetings of the Committee to address the public safety impacts of budgets recommended by Foster that Council majorities ultimately enacted which cut police and fire resources for taxpayers.

As Mayor in July 2014, Garcia recommended, and the Council voted without dissent to approve, a FY15 budget that eliminated LBPD's field anti-gang unit, an action first proposed by Mayor Foster two years earlier.