Sunday Safety Update: 11/15/2015 to 11/21/2015

Disclaimer: Please note these maps are meant to show which direction crime is trending, areas to keep an extra eye on and places to remain vigilant in order for Central Long Beach residents to remain safe. That said, previous trends don't guarantee future trends will repeat in the same direction and patterns. Also, an absence of crime in one area, does not guarantee an

Within the borders of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood not much is happening. It's been very quiet around the park itself. And thanks to our neighborhood resource officers, the park itself and the alleys are spotless. When I passed by for today's clean up, the other side of 14th was worse than the park itself.

There is a weak trend of assaults at PCH and Alamitos heading northwest towards fifteen, where a slightly stronger trend of unrelated crimes dips south back into the neighborhood. Be vigilant around PCH and Alamitos by the college and by Alamitos and 15th. Also be very careful if you're in the north end of the neighborhood just to the east of us.

There is a weak trend of car thefts heading from the AOC7 around Hoffman and 11th heading North East towards Gaviota an Anaheim. In that same neighborhood last night at around 10th and Vina, the streets were blocked off and a police helicopter was in the area.  I know due to neighborhood contacts, I have not yet learned the reason. I will share as soon as I do.

Within pour neighborhood there is a lot of activity around Junipero that starts with strong trends heading East or West and weaker trends heading South East or North West. If you're in the area around Anaheim and Junipero, please keep your items locked. There have been increased breaking and enterings, which will get worse as we approach the holidays. Also, there is a strong trend of different kinds of crime around Spaulding Street. Anywhere on Spaulding west of Junipero keep an eye out for your friends and neighbors.

Because I have a few off days, there will be extra neighborhood walks, Go Long Beach Requests, and Josephine A Villaseñor and I are going to work on a more structured version of a Community Watch that would allow better communication between neighborhoods and better training on conflict deescalation, disaster preparedness and and self defense.

September to Agust: MacArthur Park Crime Comparrison

September Stats (MacArthur Park Neighborhood Only):

1. Theft from Vehicles (7 Total): Down 12%. Equally scattered.Still a disturbing trend on the east end of Old Zaferia Way outside the neighborhood.
2. Theft (7 total): No real pattern. Up 14%. Caution on Anaheim east of Cherry. PCH by Chittick field and Alamitos and PCH.
3. Theft of Vehicles (7 Total):be careful PCH from Gardenia to Orange and anywhere along Anaheim. Up 175%.
4. Assaults (5 Total): Down 17%. Most cluster 14th Street Gundry to Gaviota.
5. Vehicle Recovery (4 Total): 100% increase/  Look for missing cars around MacArthur Park/ 15th or Gardenia.
   
6. Quality of Life (3 Total): 300% increase, SW end of the neighborhood close to MacArthur Park; all ecstasy possession.
7. Robbery (2 total): Down 33%. Caution at MacArthur Park close to Anaheim.
8. Breaking & Entering (1 Total): 100% increase. Quite a few incidents just south of us along 11th in AOC7 and Cambodia Town East.
9. Property Crime (0 Total): 100% improvement.Tagging is way down in September.
10. Homicide (0 Total):No change; no nearby shootings.
11. Sexual Offense, Fire, Emergency, Proactive Policing Other (0 Total): No Change

 August Stats (MacArthur Park Neighborhood Only):

1. Property Crime (9 Total): All west of Gardenia. Otherwise, no pattern/ up 30%.
2. Theft from Vehicles (8 Total): No obvious pattern. On other side of Old Zaferia Way this more than doubles. Down about 30%.
3. Assaults (6 Total): No pattern; even spread. Up 16%.
4. Theft (6 total): No real pattern. Up 33%.
5. Theft of Vehicles (4 Total): No obvious pattern. On other side of Old Zaferia Way this more than doubles. Down 42%.
6. Robbery (3 total): Be careful in the alley between Walnut and Gaviota. Down 25%.
7. Vehicle Recovery (2 Total): Anaheim and Walnut/ Stanton and 15th. Not recorded last month, but up 50%. 
8. Quality of Life (1 Total): Meth/ PCP at Cherry and PCH. Down 80%.
9. Breaking & Entering (0 Total): 100% improvement
10. Homicide (0 Total):Down 100%. There was an attempted shooting at Gaviota and 14th. Drive by/ suspected as gang related.
11. Sexual Offense, Fire, Emergency, Proactive Policing Other (0 Total): No Change

Summary: In September there were 36 total incidents; a modest 8 percent decrease in crime. Theft/ car theft and drug related crimes are all up. Vehicle theft and stolen car recovery was up significantly. While only property crime, theft, assaults and robbery are down. most other increases in crime were minor. vandalism was way down averaging the other modest crime increases out. 

Sunday Safety Update: 05/24/2015 to 05/30/3015

There was less crime in MacArthur Park this week. It was also less serious. That said, the car theft trend does continue and trends north west, along with a lot of unreported neighborhood tagging. The blue stars represent that tagging. Most of the thefts from cars took place along Anaheim in the business district. Most of these car thefts took place in places where car thefts have happened in the past.

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Car Theft Prevention Tip: Do not leave valuables in your car even for on short trips

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Also notice there was a string of breaking and entering just north of our neighborhood. Be vigilant just in case that trends south west. Here are some suggestions on how to prevent breaking and entering. You can get outlet plugs on timers to keep your lights turning on and off at certain times, to keep appliances on and off as if someone is home while you're away. Below are some other cheap things you can buy at almost any home improvement store to keep your home secure. If I personally had the window locks, the only breaking and enterting that affected me would probably have never occurred. Considering you can get them for about $5 each, they are an excellent investment.

Window Lock/ Cheap Effective

Outlet Timer: On & Off Timer

Sliding Door Lock

Long Beach police involved in shooting after responding to report of trespassers

An officer-involved shooting took place today in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of Long Beach after police responded to a report of several trespassers tagging a vacant apartment.

The shooting resulted in a 19-year-old man being hit by gunfire. He was taken to a hospital and was in critical condition as of about 7 tonight, according to Long Beach Police Sgt. Megan Zabel.

Read the whole story at the Press Telegram.

* The MacArthur Park Neighborhood extends our thanks to both those who reported the tagging and the Long Beach PD. As much as this is bad news, the lat two incidents of violence in our neighborhood resulted in the perpetrators being led away in handcuffs. That's what happens when neighbors keep their eye open and watch out for each other..

Recent Update/ With Suspect Names

Both the below LB resources will eliminate any tagging free of charge. And they work quickly.

You can quickly rid yourself of any graffiti by using the Go Long Beach App.

Or just call the Graffiti Abatement Hotline.

(562) 570-2773

In Response To The Press Telegram About The Deadly 90813 Zip Code

The Press Telegram recently ran an article about the 90813 zip code being Long Beach's deadliest zip code. The problem is they are using statistics from ten years ago. In order to be useful to residents of the area, you need to see how things are changing, be it for the better or the worse.

Breakdown of what the numbers say

1. The amount of homicides in Long Beach has declined 76% over 15 years. 
2. The number of homicides in 90813 has decreased over the last three years
3. A map of those homicides shows a heavier cluster south of Anaheim Street.
4. The percentage that represents of Long Beach homicides has fluctuated as the number of homicides in Long Beach has went up and  down since 2011.
5. The number of homicides so far in 2015 in the 90813 zip code was zero as of February 28th, 2015.

The article for the Press Telegram states there have been 110 homicides in the 90813 zip [Central Long Beach], second only to the 90805 zip code, which serves long beach. 

The 90813 gets a worse rap because  because 56 - 58% remain unsolved. In Long Beach overall, about 38% of all homicides go unsolved. A twenty two percent higher unsolved murder rate for the 90813 zip code does look exceptionally bad.

An objective look at three years of numbers:

Long Beach Police have detailed statistics going back around three years. They have less detailed statistics for the last 15. 

Over the last 15 years the murder rate in Long Beach is down by 76%. Violent crime is down by 51% and property crime is down 51%. That said, if homicides are down 76% over 15 years, it's reasonable to infer they are down for every zip code in Long Beach. So overall, that's positive news for Long Beach and inconclusive news/ but probably positive news for the 90813 zip code.

Now, over the last three years, I can break it down crime stats by zip code. And if you look at 90813 over the last three years, there are some bright spots and there are also some patterns. 

Understanding The Homicide Map Above

The above map tracks homicides in from 2012 until 2014. If you see a green dot there was a homicide in 2014. If you see a blue dot, a homicide took place there in 2013. If you see a red dot, a homicide took place in 2012. 

No homicides were mapped above PCH or below 7th street, as that would be out of the 90813 zip code. 

In 2014, there were a total of 23 homicides in Long Beach; The 90813 experienced about 26% of those homicides as there are 6 blue dots. While the city as a whole did experience less murders, 90813 did not. That's neutral news as the city itself saw an overall decrease, but 90813 didn't do any better than last year.

In 2013. the city experienced 33 homicides.  The 90813 zip code experienced 6. That was approximately 18% of all the homicides in Long Beach. While Long Beach's homicide rate was up, the homicide rate in the 90813 murder rate was 25% less than the previous year. That is positive news for the 90813 zip code overall.

In 2012, there were a total of 30 homicides. The 90813 zip code experienced 8. That was about 26% of all homicides in Long Beach that year. That's seems negative because 2012 saw 20% more homicides than the previous year. This doesn't tell you anything about 2012 except it experienced more homicides in the 90813 zip code than the year that followed. Stats for the previous year are not available to compare to 2012.

What Do These Numbers Really Say

Overall, that's an inconclusive analysis of the last three years at best. You really can't even tell from the map if the problem is clustering in certain blocks because there are almost as many single dots as there are clusters. All you can say for certain is the numbers are going down and the occurrences seem to be evenly spread. There is one place where there is some very good news. If you're wondering about the homicide rate in 2015. So far it's two as of February 28th and neither took place in the 90813 zip code.

Update. As of 04/01/2015, the numbers are not yet published for March. However, this morning I saw this bad news in the Long Beach Website feed.  I believe this will fall in the 292 reporting grid. Since this is three years in a row for that grid, you fight this by starting neighborhood watches in that area and taking your neighborhood back.

2nd Update: Based on conversations with police, this was not a shooting, it appears it was a homeless man who died from alcohol poisoning.