Violent crimes up in city, down in state

Andrew Edwards

Violent crimes in Huntington Beach increased by more than 20% in

2003, according to data compiled by the state Attorney General.

The report includes preliminary crime figures for 2003 and

compares them to final data from 2002 for cities with populations

greater than 100,000.

Throughout the state, the report finds a 3.1% decrease in violent

crime. Offenses defined as violent are murder, forcible rape, robbery

and aggravated assault. The small decrease was not seen in Huntington

Beach, according to the report, where violent crime rose 21.2%.

Reported robberies and assaults account for most violent crimes in

Huntington Beach. In 2003, 101 robberies were reported, up from 84 in

2002. Aggravated assaults increased from 216 to 263.

Police attributed the increased number of robberies to an upsurge

in bank robberies

The heists, Perez said, are believed to be frequently committed by

gangs based in Los Angeles County.

The rise in reported assaults could be because more people,

especially domestic violence victims, are calling police, Huntington

Beach Lt. Janet Perez said.

“The supposition in part is we have better reporting,” she said.

Police have not found a pattern that explains why assaults went up

in 2003, however.

Early 2004 data suggests a decline in both robberies and assaults

this year, Perez said.

There were three murders reported in both 2002 and 2003, while the

number of rapes went up from 36 to 44.

.

Property crime rates didn’t change much in 2003, increasing by

0.3% increase.

The number of reported burglaries went up, while vehicle thefts

and grand theft reports declined.

Perez said the rise in burglaries was likely because of an upswing

in the number of car burglaries and belongings stolen out of cars.

“Burglaries of residences have been dropping steadily over the

past five years,” she said.

In 2003, 961 burglaries were reported, compared to 856 the

previous year. Vehicle thefts dropped from 475 to 441, and grand

thefts took a dip from 1,049 to 986.