Long Beach's 1st + 6th Council Districts Combined End 2018 With Homicide Rate Approaching City Of Compton

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(Dec. 30, 2018) -- If nothing changes between dawn Dec. 31 and midnight, Long Beach's 1st and 6th Council districts combined -- which together have nearly the same population as the City of Compton -- will end 2018 with a homicide rate approaching the City of Compton.

The L.A. County Sheriff Department's Compton station website shows 19 homicides in the City of Compton (incorporated area) through November 30. Media reports indicate two December fatal shootings in Compton (December 5 and Dec. 30) for an unofficial total of 21 homicides in the City of Compton (incorporated area) in 2018.

LB's 1st plus 6th Council districts combined have had 18 homicides in 2018 (out of LB's total of 30.) Eleven homicides (averaging nearly one a month) were in LB's 1st district, represented since mid-2014 by Councilwoman (now state Senate candidate) Lena Gonzalez. Seven homicides were in LB's 6th district, represented since May 2007 by Councilman Dee Andrews (chosen as Vice Mayor in July 2018 by his Council colleagues.) (The 6th district's homicides include one crime scene with two deceased; under federal crime reporting rules, violent crimes are counted by the number of victims, not crime scenes.)

The CA Dept. of Finance's most recent population figure for the City of Compton is 99,872 (source: CA Dept. of Finance, May 2018 update, report E-1.) The City of LB's Council district map (based on 2010 census data) indicates Dist. 1 had 49,117 residents and Dist 6 had 49,444 residents for a total of 98,561. From 2010 to the present, LB's total population grew roughly 3.4% (2010 census figure compared to Jan 1/18 update by CA Dept. of Finance) making the two areas numerically comparable.

LB's 1st plus 6th Council districts combined have a 2018 homicide total amounting to roughly 86% of the City of Compton's 2018 total, or roughly 14% fewer than the City of Compton. Unincorporated areas referred to as Compton have had 5 homicides in 2018 through November 30; if those unincorporated areas (larger population) are included, the two LB Council districts combined would have nearly 70% of its total.)

LB's two LB Council districts combined account for over half of LB's 30 homicides in 2018. LBREPORT.com has editorially called the disproportionate level of violent crime experienced by mainly working class residents in these Council districts the city's worst inequity, a "tale of two cities."

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