Murrieta Police Dispute DA Crime Statistics Report

MURRIETA, CA: A crime statistics report released March 15 by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office showing the city of Murrieta had the highest spike in crime last year among cities countywide was compiled with erroneous information, a Murrieta police captain said.

The report showed Murrieta experienced a 26-percent hike in federally classified Part I crimes — murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, auto theft and larceny — in 2015 when compared to the city’s 2014 figures.

The problem, Murrieta police Capt. Dennis Vrooman said, was that the statistics reported by the D.A.’s office “were the cumulative total of the preliminary monthly numbers, not the finalized 2015 crime statistics the Murrieta Police Department actually reported to the FBI on Feb. 22, 2016.”

Oftentimes, there is a difference between the preliminary numbers and the finalized numbers, Vrooman said. This is because the preliminary numbers by law have to be reported to the FBI within 10 days of the last day of each month. But those monthly totals tend to fluctuate before they are calculated into the yearly total, the reasons being: a crime was reported and later determined to be unfounded; the crime did not occur at all; or it did not occur within the jurisdiction of the city.

“Other inaccuracies result from automated calculations that occur within the computer database and must be manually completed,” Vrooman said.

An example he gave was a domestic violence incident in which the husband may be charged with aggravated assault. The crime may initially be entered into the system three times because there are three victims — the mother and two children. But the crime of aggravated assault was solely against the mother, so the other two occurrences need to be deducted from the monthly total.

Those types of errors can only be caught manually, Vrooman said.

The report and an accompanying news release have since been removed from the home page of the D.A.’s website.

Reached Saturday, District Attorney Mike Hestrin confirmed the report was taken down.

“We are just checking numbers,” Hestrin said. “We are just reviewing them.”

“What we are trying to show is that crime is up across the county and the region,” Hestrin said. “When crime kicks up it, it typically goes up in certain areas that we call ‘hot spots’ or incrementally. But what we are seeing here is an increase in violent crimes and property crimes. No one is spared; every single city has significant increases, even when you go outside our region.”

Many law enforcement agencies, including the Murrieta Police Department, attribute the uptick to Assembly Bill 109 and Proposition 47.

AB 109, also known as the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, lessened punishments for repeat offenders who fall into the "non-serious, non-violent'' category.

Prop. 47 altered sentencing guidelines, making many drug and property crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies, and mandated re-sentencing individuals convicted of various felony drug and property crimes, enabling them to get out of prison.

“I can’t tell you that is the sole cause; I certainly think it is a strong contributing factor to what is happening,” Hestrin said. “We have taken much of the teeth out of the criminal justice system, especially on the lower end and we are reaping the results now.”

In Murrieta — which is consistently ranked among the Top 10 safest cities in the U.S. for populations over 100,000 — Vrooman said Prop. 47 has contributed to more property crimes being committed.

“In Murrieta the violent crime has remained constant but the property crime has escalated,” Vrooman said. “That happens when you downgrade crime, when you are not locking people up.”

The finalized numbers submitted by Murrieta police to the FBI as well as the DA’s office show there were 246 more property crimes — burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson — in 2015 than in 2014, which is a 16.8 percent increase.

Combined with a 1.4-percent drop in violent crimes — homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — Murrieta overall experienced a 15.9-percent increase in crime in 2015, the finalized figures show.

(Photo credit: Maggie Avants)