Long Beach's violent crime rate drops to 42-year low
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- New statistics show a major drop in Long Beach's crime rate.
"When you're talking about a reduction in crime rate, the lowest in 42 years, you're really talking about a true team effort," said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna.
That 42-year low statistic is for violent crimes, which are down 3.2 percent over 2013 and down nearly 18 percent over the last 5 years.
Twenty-three people died in homicides in 2014 -- the lowest number since 1969, police said.
Property crimes were generally down, with residential burglaries falling 9.7 percent, auto burglaries down 7.6 percent, arsons down 36.5 percent, auto theft down 13.3 percent.
"Long Beach is safer today than it's ever been in its history," said Mayor Robert Garcia.
Even if that's true, there is still crime, as evidenced by this past weekend's triple shooting and abduction of 3-week-old Eliza Delacruz, who was later found dead in San Diego County.
But improvements are being felt citywide.
"So that's really good, but I always say good is the enemy to great. We're doing good, but how do we get to great? How do we become a model city for cities across the nation?" said Gregory Sanders, a pastor at ROCK Christian Fellowship of Long Beach.
Sanders has organized a town hall meeting, scheduled for Thursday, between the police chief and the Long Beach community. He says it is especially necessary after the police incidents and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and Southern California.
"To me, these are social storms. So it's a good opportunity for us to really brace ourselves and create a conversation that will prohibit the storm," said Sanders.
Luna says the forum is about public trust.
"As police chief, and this police department, we want to be able to go out and listen to our community," said Luna.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Antioch Church of Long Beach. Officials say no topic is off-limits.
City News Service contributed to this report.
