The FBI is reporting that murders and rapes went up in Santa Ana in the first half of last year, while violent crime dropped in Irvine by 16.9 percent. Santa Ana had 856 violent crimes versus 59 violent crimes in Irvine, in that six month period, according to the O.C. Register.
I wonder how many violent crimes Santa Ana suffered in the entire year of 2008? As our readers know, the last quarter of last year was particularly bloody, even as our Council Members were lying to us about how safe our city is.
I also found out last year that the Santa Ana Police Department does not count thefts involving vehicles as burglaries. So all those catalytic converters stolen last year apparently won’t show up in the FBI statistics, or perhaps they will show up as minor robberies.
This year has already started in bloody fashion in Santa Ana, as we reported. One man was stabbed just past midnight on New Year’s Eve, and another was beaten up with a hammer, by a man hiding in his van, as he left Mass on New Year’s Day.
With the economy in disarray, I suspect 2009 will be an even worse year than 2008, in Santa Ana, at least with regard to violent crimes. Don’t expect any new ideas or leadership from our elected officials.
The 7-11 that is less than a mile from Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s house, and is also blocks away from Santa Ana Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez’ purported house (she uses her mom’s house as her address) has been involved in three robberies in the past few months.
And of course the Santa Ana City Manager, Dave Ream, who lives in the gated community of Coto de Caza, has reported that he is understaffing our police department as the city struggles to keep up with last year’s pension spike. When is this guy going to retire already?
Its amazing that you always seem to think the SAPD is trying to hide something. A look at the penal code book would be good before you questions statistics. You would learn that thefts of the converters don’t meet the elements of a burglary or a minor robbery.