Irvine on-track to defend safest large city crown
By SEAN EMERY
OC Register
2009-12-21 11:02:17
IRVINE – The community is on track to grab the safest large city in America
crown for the sixth straight year, according to preliminary FBI statistics
covering the first half of 2009.
Irvine Police officials on Monday touted the results of the preliminary FBI
report, which covers violent crimes – including murders, rapes, robberies
and aggravated assaults – in cities with more than 100,000 residents between
January and June of this year.
"We consider a safe community to be the cornerstone for everything that we
accomplish in Irvine," Mayor Sukhee Kang said in a written release. "This
latest news is an acknowledgement of a job well done, as well as an
understanding that our job is never done."
The FBI stats showed drops in several violent crime categories compared to
the previous year, including:
‧ Property crimes, which dropped from 1,621 reports in the first half of
2008 to 1,565 in the first half of 2009.
‧Larceny reports, which dropped from 1,285 to 1,224.
‧Motor vehicle theft reports, which dropped from 104 to 70.
‧Arson reports, which dropped from 23 to 13.
Other categories rose, including:
‧Robbery reports, which rose from 23 in the first half of 2008 to 31 in the
first half of 2009.
‧Aggravated assault reports, which rose from 21 to 36.
‧Burglary reports, which rose from 232 to 271.
Irvine police officials have previously attributed their success to community
partnerships and a system of geographic-based policing that gives officers
the chance to develop a rapport with residents and businesses.
The FBI information is based on crime statistics voluntarily provided by law
enforcement agencies nationwide.
A separate ranking of communities by crime rates by CQ Press released last
month listed Irvine in fourth place, behind nearby Mission Viejo. That report
included a larger number of cities – dropping the population floor to 75,000
– and took into account other crime such as non-violent burglaries and auto
thefts.