Due to a strong partnership between residents, businesses and the La Mirada’s Public Safety Team, the city’s crime rate continues to fall. During the past year, the City of La Mirada again experienced one of the region’s lowest crime rates and remained among the safest cities in Los Angeles County. This partnership fosters a well-coordinated team approach to fighting crime. The City remains committed to community-based, problem-solving policing and aggressive crime suppression.
La Mirada experienced the lowest number of Part 1 crimes in 2018 of communities in southeast Los Angeles County and northern Orange County. Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, larceny, burglary, automobile theft, robbery, assault, and arson. In 2018, there were 921 Part 1 crimes reported in La Mirada compared to 1,011 in 2017. This represents an overall decrease of 8.91 percent in Part 1 crimes from 2017 to 2018. The ten-year crime analysis indicates that La Mirada has averaged 874 Part 1 crime incidents per year since 2009.
Some key findings regarding Part 1 crimes in 2018:
- La Mirada had a lower rate than Whittier, Norwalk, Lakewood, Bellflower, Cerritos, Paramount, Brea, and Santa Fe Springs the last two years.
- The number of Part 1 crimes in La Mirada is over 2 1/2 times lower than neighboring Whittier and Norwalk and 2 times lower than Lakewood, Bellflower, and Cerritos.
While Part 1 crime, in general, decreased throughout the region, the City continues to have one of the lowest crime rates in the area with fewer calls for service and generally less criminal activity.
The majority of Part 1 crimes in 2018 were property crimes. Of the 921 Part 1 crimes reported in La Mirada, 832 were crimes involving stolen property and they account for nearly 90 percent of Part 1 crimes reported in 2018.
Part 2 crimes include forgery, fraud, sex offenses, non-aggravated assaults, weapons violations, alcohol and narcotics offenses, disorderly conduct, vandalism, vehicle code violations, and receiving stolen property. The total number of Part 2 crimes in La Mirada was 1,383 in 2018. There were 1,566 in 2017.
In 2018, the Public Safety Team continued to work cooperatively with other agencies to keep crime low and enhance the quality of life in La Mirada.
Property related crimes are expected to persist throughout the region due, in part, to the legislative downgrading of crimes such as shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud, and writing bad checks. As long as the total value of the stolen property is under $950, the crime is considered a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction carries little, if any, incarceration time and results in limited supervision if probation is imposed. The La Mirada and Norwalk Sheriff’s Station deputies continue to arrest, book, and fingerprint these suspects. The La Mirada Public Safety Team has also responded by ordering latent fingerprint investigations at all property crime scenes.
Through increased collaboration, the Team has also addressed a variety of nuisance issues. In 2018, the Team engaged with partner agencies and organizations to respond to the increasing homeless and transient population in the region. Additionally, the Team continued graffiti suppression efforts and enforced the City’s laws on solicitors and scavengers.
In an effort to keep response times low and enable Sheriff’s Deputies to have additional time to patrol and make proactive arrests, Public Safety Officers were trained to respond to traffic collisions and write reports in 2018. Last year, Public Safety Officers prepared 117 of the 340 non-injury traffic collision reports. Public Safety Officers also completed 565 non-workable crime reports in 2018 compared to 310 reports in 2017. In order to effectively respond to incidents and serve as an additional resource for Sheriff’s Deputies, the civilian deployment was modified and an additional Public Safety Officer shift was added on weekdays.
Community-based crime prevention and awareness continues to be a big part of La Mirada’s success. The Public Safety Team interacted with the following local organizations and programs:
- La Mirada Library
- La Mirada schools
- Neighborhood Watch meetings
- City’s “Home Safe Home”, “Shine a Light, Secure the Night” and “#9pmroutine” campaigns
- City’s Summer Day Camp at Neff Park
- La Mirada Chamber of Commerce
- La Mirada Business Watch program
- La Mirada Living and social media platforms
- La Mirada Public Safety e-Watch newsletter
In 2019, the Public Safety Team will continue proactive policing in order to maintain a low crime rate in La Mirada. Probation and parole searches will be conducted to hold offenders accountable. The Team will also make use of the Citizens’ Option for Public Safety (COPS) funding for overtime to address crime and nuisance issues.
In 2019, the City will also continue its efforts to identify at-risk youth and offer intervention, education, and prevention to youth and their families experiencing problems. The Public Safety Team will educate students on the dangers of participating in delinquent behaviors through its Positive Alternatives program in elementary and middle schools and SART program at La Mirada High School.
The Team will continue its active involvement in the Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch programs and reach out to La Mirada residents and business owners to help reduce crime. Through the Neighborhood Watch Program, the Team will also promote the Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP), which works to involve residents in neighborhood emergency preparedness efforts.
This article includes excerpts from La Mirada’s 2018 Annual Crime Report. Click here to get more detail about individual Part 1 crimes and to learn more about the great work that The Public Safety Team is doing within the community. Let’s support their work and continue to make La Mirada one of the safest cities in the region.
Source: City of La Mirada