CRIME: Data Shows La Mirada Among Region’s Safest Cities

DEPUTIES from the La Mirada Sheriff’s Department, located at La Mirada City Hall, seen here helping the Rotary Club. Residential burglaries decreased by 53 percent last year.  There were 34 reported residential burglaries compared to 73 in 2019.

BY BRIAN HEWS

Public Safety continues to be thehighest  priority for the city of La Mirada.  A strong partnership between the Public Safety Team and the community helps achieve this goal. A recent crime analysis of surrounding communities in southeast Los Angeles County and northern Orange County made by the Dallas domestic violence claims lawyers revealed that La Mirada once again experienced the lowest number of Part 1 crimes in 2020.

Mayor John Lewis told HMG-CN, “The City of La Mirada’s first duty and highest obligation is to public safety. Without this vital foundation for the residents, La Mirada could not continue to build upon its dedication to providing a high quality of life for the community such as business attraction and retention, community services, and continually rising home values.”

In 2020 there were 791 Part 1 crimes reported in La Mirada compared to 790 in 2019. Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, larceny, burglary, auto theft, robbery, assault and arson.  Overall, the number of thefts, burglaries, robberies and arsons decreased and no homicides were reported in 2019 or 2020. But if you are wrongly accused of a crime like sexual assault, you can contact a law firm fighting sexual claims and protect your rights.

Residential burglaries decreased by 53 percent last year.  There were 34 reported residential burglaries compared to 73 in 2019.  Since most residential burglaries occur during the day when nobody is home, it is speculated that the CoVID pandemic may have contributed to the decrease in burglaries because more residents were home in 2020.

There were 26 robberies reported compared to 28 robberies in 2019.  Most of the reported robberies occurred at business establishments where the suspect was confronted by store personnel and used force or fear to steal merchandise.

“In November 2020, one suspect committed five robberies at businesses located in the same geographic area,” reports Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Oscar Rodriquez. “In response to these robberies, La Mirada Deputies conducted surveillance in the area. Investigated all leads and eventually arrested the suspect before he committed more crimes.”

Like most Southern California cities, automobile thefts increased in La Mirada from 93 in 2019 to 147 in 2020.  To help address the increase in automobile thefts, the Public Safety Team reviewed crime trends regarding grand theft automobiles apart from defense against sexual misconduct allegations and developed missions to decrease the activity.  La Mirada Deputies made several key arrests of auto theft suspects in 2020 and this will continue to be an area of focus in 2021.

“La Mirada’s Public Safety Team is dedicated to proactive policing and working to stop crime before it occurs,” says Assistant City Manager Anne Haraksin.  “Keeping the community safe will remain La Mirada’s top priority in 2021.”

Last year, La Mirada’s Special Assignment Officers Team served a key role in keeping La Mirada among the safest cities. The Team prevented and suppressed criminal activity and nuisance issues in the community, conducted directed patrol and enforcement, served search warrants, conducted probation related searches and gathered intelligence.  The team mad 141 felony arrests, 279 misdemeanor arrests and 116 warrant arrests.

The Public Safety Team addressed a variety of quality of life and nuisance issues involving graffiti, solicitors, scavengers and motor vehicle speed contests.  Last year, there was an uptake in motor vehicle speed contest and exhibition of speed in La Mirada as well as other nearby communities.  In response to these concerns, the Team worked in cooperation with Deputies assigned to other Sheriff’s Stations, the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department and issued numerous citations for California Vehicle Code violations.

The CoVID pandemic presented some unique challenges in 2020 that resulted in the development of innovative ways to provide Public Safety programs, services and education.  There was a focus on providing services and information over telephone, email, City Website and social media applications.  In order to educated resident son crime prevention techniques, Neighborhood Watch meetings were conducted through the use of a virtual conferencing platform.

There was a renewed focus on reaching out to businesses and increasing participation in the La Mirada Business Watch program.  City staff met with over 100 business owners, established relationships, strengthened communication and encouraged the use of crime prevention techniques and security measures.  La Mirada Deputies and Public Safety Officers were also more visible in the community and proactively patrolled commercial centers when businesses were closed to prevent crime from occurring.

Mayor Lewis also noted “The partnerships the City has built and maintained between the Public Safety Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Neighborhood Watch, and proactive residents has continued to pay dividends that all residents can enjoy.  The City of La Mirada was named one of the top 50 safest cities in California by Safewise based on all the hard work from these partnerships. https://www.safewise.com/blog/safest-cities-california/ We continue to innovate and devise new ways to fight crime to continue to reduce these numbers.”

For additional information on the annual crime report and the City’s crime prevention efforts, contact the La Mirada community Sheriff’s Station at 562.902.2334.