Overall crime drops in L.B.

Reflecting national trends, the City of Long Beach experienced its eighth consecutive year of decreasing crime in 1999, with overall crime dropping by 2.3 percent, according to a report released by the city manager's office.

While crime totals in most major categories fell last year compared to 1998, according to the report released earlier this month, there were several areas where rates went up, including murder, auto burglaries, arson and rape.

The 46 murders in the city in 1999 represent a 9.5 percent increase from 42 homicides in 1998.

The murder rate, although unacceptable, represents a large decrease from the all-time high of 126 murders in 1993, said Long Beach Police Department Deputy Chief Anthony Batts.

Police also believe their crime sweeps have contributed to the decrease by taking criminals off the streets and cleaning up blighted neighborhoods, said Nancy Tabing, a police spokeswoman.

"We are also pushing the neighborhood watch programs in an effort to prevent crimes before they occur," Tabing said.

The amount of vehicle burglaries continues to be a problem for many residents, as that number jumped from 2,851 in '98 to 3,093 last year, an 8.4 percent increase.

Areas of improvement included robbery, down 10.8 percent, and aggravated assault, which saw a 14.2 percent drop.

"The increased efforts in community policing has resulted in fewer crimes," said Carl Kemp, acting spokesperson for the city manager's office. "There are also more officers on the streets than there were five years ago."