Crime in La Mirada Part 2, How does the city compare to others

February 8, 2019

Crime in La Mirada 2018 Part 2

On Monday La Mirada NewsBeat reported on the latest statistics from the Sheriff's Department that indicated crime was lower in the city in 2018.  Part 2 on crime in La Mirada in 2018 series of reports will examine how the city compares to its neighbors.

Crime fell 8.9% in La Mirada in 2018, including a more than 14% drop in violent crimes.  The public will hear quite often how safe our streets are compared to neighboring communities.  This report will explore how accurate that claim actually is.

The latest crime statistics per jurisdiction will be used in the following comparison.  Statistics for specific categories for crime in 2018 are not available for some cities and will be noted. A comparison will be made on a per capita rate of 10,000 residents.

Overall crime rate (property thefts and violent crimes combined followed by violent crimes only)

2018                        Number of crimes     Rate per 10,000 residents
                                    Overall/ Violent             Overall/ Violent

La Mirada                         921/  89                        186.71/  18.04
Whittier                            2,470                             283.45/  ***
Whittier County areas*    1,128/  213                    161.64/  30.52
Norwalk                           2,410 /  449                    226.76/  42.25
Cerritos                           1,959/   162                    385.56/  31.88
Santa Fe Springs            1,105                              **

2018 crime statistics for the following cities were not available for the following cities and 2017 rates will be shown.
                                     
                                        Crimes                   Per 10,000 residents

Buena Park                      3,106/   292              371.74/   34.95
Fullerton                           4,241/   293              299.71/   20.69
La Habra                          1,388/   137              224.31/   22.14

*  Unincorporated areas of South Whittier and East Whittier patroled by deputies from Norwalk Sheriff's Station

**  An accurate picture of crime in Santa Fe Springs cannot be captured by making a per capita comparison due to a large number of businesses located in the city.

***  Crime statistics for violent crimes was not available, the number of crimes in this category in 2017 was 300 at a rate of 34.43 per 10,000 population.

A quick glance at the statistics holds true the claim, La Mirada is the safest community in the area.

Readers can find Part One of Crime in La Mirada 2018 at:
https://www.lamiradanewsbeat.com/2019/02/the-number-of-reported-crimes-tracked.html