Equal To Or Worse Than Compton: These Two LB Council Districts Combined Have Had As Many Or More Criminal Homicides Thus Far In 2018 Than Compton

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(Sept. 26, 2018. 5:55 p.m.) -- If Long Beach Council districts 1 + 6 -- adjacent areas and stretching from part of WLB through northern downtown into Central Long Beach -- were its own independent city, it would have a 2018-to-date homicide rate at least as high or higher than Compton.

Long Beach Council district 1 (Councilwoman Gonzalez) plus 6 (Vice Mayor Andrews) combined have nearly the same population as Compton (data below.) From Jan. 1, 2018 through Sept. 26, 2018, LBPD crime data show Council district 1 has had 9 homicides and Council district 6 has had 4 homicides for a total of 13.

LASD's website indicates 10 homicides through August 31; homicide data for September isn't available since as a matter of policy LASD doesn't release crime data for less than a full month. However, the L.A. County Coroner's office says there have been two Compton homicides thus far in September for a total of 12. However, we're also received conflicting information from another data source indicating Compton may have had third September homicide which would total 13. Either way, as of Sept. 26, LB's 1st + 6th Council districts combined have either reached or exceeded Compton's homicide total for 2018 to date.

The most recent (Jan. 1, 2018) population figure for 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.

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LBREPORT.com notes that during the same Jan 1 through Sept. 26, 2018 period, the northern section of the 8th Council district (southern NLB) had a higher homicide total than district 6 with five homicides. However the 8th dist total includes two victims at one crime scene and isn't contiguous to either district 1 or 6. For that reason, in our opinion, it's less meaningful for comparison purposes...although the grim numerical total remains (including today's/Sept. 26 murder of an LBCC student at an Atlantic Ave./52nd St. drive-through restaurant.)

District 9 has had 3 homicides in 2018 to date; District 2 has had 2; districts 5 and 7 have had one homicide each...and districts 3 and 4 have had none.

The 13 homicides in LB's 1st + 6th districts account over half of LB's 25 homicides in 2018 to date.

District 1 has been represented since mid-July 2014 by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, re-elected in the April 2018 election cycle without a ballot opponent. District 6 has been represented since mid-July 2018 by Councilman (Vice Mayor since mid-July 2018) Dee Andrews, most recently re-elected in April 2016 via a write-in campaign.

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The City Council's Sept. 4, 2018 FY19 budget (approved on 9-0 vote) leaves LB taxpayers with 22 routine citywide deployable officers restored to date out of 208 erased by Council votes (that included then-Councilman Garcia) between 2009-2014. Today, 186 citywide routinely deployable officers remain unrestored for taxpayers,

A chart below compares the resulting per capita police levels currently provided to taxpayers by LB's incumbent Mayor/Council compared to what Mayors/Councils in Los Angeles and Signal Hill provide for their constituents.

For additional details on LB's budgeted police staffing for taxpayers, see LBREPORT.com coverage here and here.

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