Final year-end crime statistics that Long Beach officials unveiled Monday indicate that the most serious crime of murders dropped by 8.3 percent in 2016, and that overall crime in the city remained essentially flat when compared to 2015 levels.
Total Part 1 crime in 2016 remained flat when compared with 2015, with a .01 percent slight increase. Violent crime saw a small increase of 3.5 percent, while property crime saw a decrease of 0.5 percent with notable double-digit decreases in bike theft, grand theft and petty theft greater than $50.
“While many cities across California saw increases in murder and overall crime, I am grateful that Long Beach saw its murder rate decrease and that overall crime remained flat,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “There is still more work to do, which is why we are hiring more police officers, modernizing our equipment and facilities and bringing in the Long Beach Innovation Team.”
Long-term trends continue to show positive results with decreases in total violent crimes of more than 30 percent, and murders are down over 47 percent since 1985, officials say.
“Thanks to the combined efforts of our community members, city partners, and the dedication of the men and women of the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), we were able to keep crime from spiking,” said Police Chief Robert Luna. “We are looking forward to the Innovation Team providing more creative solutions so we can continue to keep Long Beach safe.”
In 2017, the Long Beach Innovation Team (i-team) will shift its efforts and focus on public safety, engaging the community and supporting the LBPD. By taking their cutting-edge approach to public safety, they will give the city the capacity to develop new strategies even as the police department continues its focus to responding to and preventing crime, officials say.
“We are incredibly excited to bring the human-centered approach to public safety in Long Beach,” said Tracy Colunga, the City’s Innovation Team director. “We are proud to support the amazing men and women of our law-enforcement community and work with community members to deploy multiple strategies that reduce crime and further enhance community-police relations.”
Areas of continued focus for the police department and the i-team will include the following:
Data-driven policing approach
The LBPD uses data-driven approaches to strategically deploy resources and maximize enforcement efforts, officials say. To address increases in certain violent-crime categories, efforts were made to raise awareness through community meetings and educational campaigns, in addition to collaborating with advocates of victims’ rights.
“The i-team will build upon these efforts to help increase transparency, accountability and trust with the community and create a strong and integrated 21st Century police force,” states a press release from the City. In December 2014, President Barack Obama created the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2016, the City of Long Beach became part of the Data-Driven Justice Initiative that brings together city, county and state governments that incorporate data-driven approaches into their law-enforcement programs.
Public-safety continuum
The police department continues to build on relationships with all city departments and community partners that are part of the Public Safety Continuum, which provide opportunities to combine resources toward a common goal and are effective in reducing crime and addressing quality-of-life issues throughout the city, officials said. The i-team will work with the police department to identify additional methods to cultivate partnerships with departments and community members through Safe Long Beach, the City’s Violence Prevention Plan, working together to create and sustain conditions that promote long-term safety.
Education and outreach
The City of Long Beach’s goal to further public trust remains a priority, officials say. The City was awarded $600,000 in grant funding to strengthen law enforcement and community relations. The police department implemented training consistent with the recommendations made by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, in addition to a community police academy where participants have the opportunity to gain insight into police training and operations.
The City is increasing community outreach efforts to engage residents through enhanced technology with the police department’s “Go LBPD” mobile app that was updated with expanded information categories, online reporting and additional social-media presence.
Source: City of LB
