Contra Costa County Crime

Every neighborhood and city in this country suffers from some crime. Even communities surrounded by gates and patrolled by guards will see family violence or pilfering by visitors.

So the question to ask when shopping for a home or apartment is not: Is this neighborhood safe? But rather, how safe is it compared to other places?

In California and elsewhere, crime often follows demographics: High-income neighborhoods generally have low crime, middle-income places middling crime, and low-income towns and neighborhoods high crime.

Generally — many exceptions. There are many low-income towns in California that have little crime.

In Contra Costa, Richmond for decades has struggled with high crime in some of its low-income neighborhoods.

Obviously, the city still has problems. In 2006, the city council hired a new police chief and replaced almost its entire administrative staff. Residents are asking for more programs to keep the kids out of mischief.

The city is vowing to bring down crime. We will see the results in 2007.

To be fair to Richmond, a sprawling and diverse city, it has many neighborhoods where the crime runs to suburban average.

As for the other cities in the county, crime is low but some cities want it even lower.

In 2006, some Antioch residents implored the city council to hire more cops and do more to control rowdy teenagers. The council directed its staff to step up hiring efforts.

Pinole, responding to the shooting deaths of two young men, voted in 2006 to raise taxes and hire more cops and install surveillance equipment.

In 2006, Lafayette turned down a cop tax but about 60 percent of voters favored measure. It required two-thirds approval.

In 2005, Contra Costa recorded 81 homicides. In 2004, the count was 76 and the previous year 74.

Suggestions:

Take a look at the academic rankings of the neighborhood school. Very low rankings indicate that many children are failing, that the dropout rate is probably high, that the young people will have difficulty finding jobs — conditions that sometimes breed crime.

In middle-scoring towns, the failures are fewer. In higher-scoring towns, fewer still.

Drive the neighborhood. The signs of trouble are often easily read: men idling around the liquor store, bars on many windows, security doors in wide use.

Should you avoid unsafe or marginal neighborhoods?

For some people, the answer depends on trade-offs and personal circumstances. The troubled neighborhoods often carry low prices or rents and are located near job centers. Many towns and sections are in transition; conditions could improve, the investment might be worthwhile. What’s intolerable to a parent might be acceptable to a single person.

In West Contra Costa, some of the new tracts incorporate security devices and designs, such as high walls.

Trade-offs also apply when choosing really safe neighborhoods.

If you don’t have the bucks, you can still buy safe but you may have to settle for a smaller house. Or the equivalent of Wyoming. The state is quite safe — 14 homicides in 2005 — the FBI reported — but when the temperatures drop to 40 below, the sunny but less-safe places may seem a better choice.

Whatever your neighborhood, don’t make it easy for predators. Lock your doors, join the neighborhood watches, school your children in safety, take extra precautions when they are called for.

California Crime 

Of the 2,503 homicides in 2005 in California, 1,845 were shot to death, the FBI reported.

Of the 1,845, handguns accounted for 1,493 deaths, rifles 83, shotguns 76 and other firearms 193. Knives were used in 288 homicides, other weapons in 237 and hands and fists in 133.

Megan's Law

For a list of registered sex offenders by town or city, go to www.meganslaw.ca.gov

Guns

Many Americans oppose gun control but guns are used in many homicides and assaults.

In 2000, France, about 54 million people, counted 503 murders. In 2002, the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), 58 million residents, recorded 513 murders. This works out to about nine murders for every million people.

In the U.S., population about 300 million, homicides in 2005 totaled 16,692 or about 56 murders for every million people. Guns accounted for at least 10,100 deaths, and of these handguns shot 7,543 of the victims. (And compared to 10 or 15 years ago, murders and crime are way down. In 1993, the U.S. recorded 24,526 homicides.)