EDITORIAL

Let’s face it. Numerous crime statistics are released throughout the

year, every year. Sometimes they reveal improvement, and sometimes they

don’t. Often, the numbers are misleading -- for instance, if there’s a

100% increase. The jump may sound alarming, but if the number simply

rises from 2 to 4, it may mean less than it seems.

Still, recent crime figures in Costa Mesa are adding up to disturbing

news.

In May, the FBI released the 2000 Uniform Crime Reporting figures,

which ranked Costa Mesa as one of the safest cities nationwide. In that

report, the city came in 30th of the 209 cities with populations greater

than 100,000. They were encouraging statistics to read.

Then, this week, there was bad news to report. Violent crime climbed

39% in the first six months of the year in Costa Mesa as compared with

the same period in 2000, according to the state attorney general’s

office. At the same time, violent crime decreased 1.5% statewide.

Among the violent crimes included were homicide, forcible rape,

robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, auto theft and larceny/theft.

The report also showed there was one homicide in the first six months

of the year, compared with none in 2000. And in the past weeks, there

have been two murders and one attempted murder making sad headlines.

Overall, crime climbed 9% -- from 1,746 to 1,903 -- in the city,

according to the numbers.

Costa Mesa police officials attribute the large increase to the low

statistics of 2000, which recorded a 4% overall drop compared with the

figures from 1999. However, the FBI’s statistics a year ago also showed

an increase, as violent crimes climbed 15%.

It is obvious and unfortunate that crime, some of it violent, remains

a problem in Costa Mesa. Those at the Police Department say they have

proactive community-oriented programs in place to reduce the problem. We

applaud any step the department takes in trying to reach that goal and

encourage more ideas to improve the relationship between the police and

residents, as well as the department’s ability to fight crime, wherever

it may appear.

We are confident our officers can get the job done.