Stats: Irvine one of safest cities
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COSTA MESA — Irvine is the safest city in the state per capita for the first half of 2010 among cities with at least 100,000 residents, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the California Department of Justice.
Meanwhile, violent crime over that period in Costa Mesa dropped 31% and increased 38% in Newport Beach.
Violent crime is considered any homicide, rape, robbery or aggravated assault.
With nearly 218,000 residents, Irvine had the third fewest violent crimes among the state’s largest cities with 65 between January and June of this year. That’s about a 20% drop from the same period in 2009.
Per capita, Irvine came out as the safest because the other two cities with fewer violent crimes, Murrieta and Simi Valley, each have about half as many residents.
Costa Mesa saw a significant drop in robberies and felony assaults compared with 2009. Though there have been two homicides so far this year and there were none midway through last year, there have been 16 fewer robberies and 41 fewer aggravated assaults — almost a 50% drop. There were 98 aggravated assaults midway through 2009 and 57 through June this year, statistics showed.
The city also saw an almost across-the-board drop in property crimes, with fewer burglaries, petty and grand thefts. There has been a spike in motor vehicle thefts, however, with 153 through June this year compared with 116 in 2009, according to the report.
Newport Beach statistics weren’t included in the state report, though the Police Department does update its statistics monthly.
At the halfway point of 2010, the city had seen more robberies — 26 versus 18 last year — and more aggravated assaults, up to 30 from 23 last year. There have been two reported rapes through June this year and one last year.
Newport Beach police reported 215 burglaries midway through the year, an 18% drop compared with the same time last year.