Taking aim at shooting violence
With a 59% spike in gun crime this year, city leaders and police chief seek solutions to stem tide
Long Beach police officers have been working overtime and seizing an increasing number of guns off the streets in recent months, city leaders said Friday as they discussed additional ways to address a 59% rise in shootings so far this year.
Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said he believes the coronavirus pandemic and the increased number of guns on the streets were contributing factors to the spike in gun violence, a trend happening nationwide. City leaders also discussed ways to prevent crime long-term, including adding teen programs and more city resources to areas being hit hard by the violence.
The Police Department this year has honed in on finding guns that may be in the wrong hands, Luna said, which has led to 528 firearm seizures so far this year, a 51% increase from last year. Officers also were walking the streets and talking with residents as part of its Neighborhood Walks pilot program, focused in areas of higher crime such as the Washington neighborhood and in North Long Beach.
“In the past, we focused on just arrests,” Luna said. “It’s not all about arrests, it’s about getting guns off of the street, preventing crimes from happening, intervening in situations and (officers being) very engaged with our community.”
Officers so far this year have made 287 firearmrelated arrests, up 63% from last year; in addition to 177 arrests of prohibited firearm possess
ors, up 55% during the same period, according to police.
Part of that increase is likely due to significantly more guns in the streets, Mayor Robert Garcia said.
Last year, handgun sales in the state increased 66% from 2019 to 2020, and long gun sales also increased 46% in the same period, according to the California Department of Justice.
But illegally obtained guns are a large issue as well, according to Luna, who said that over the past weekend at least six guns were seized. Of those, two were stolen and four were ghost guns, he said.
So far this year, 84% of the 19 people killed in the city were as a result of gun violence, Luna said. Nine of the homicides were gang-related and four involved people experiencing homelessness. All but one of the victims were people of color, Luna said.
Of all shootings so far this year, 32% were believed to be gang-related, according to police.
In addition to unemployment and economic factors, Luna said he believes some of the policies enacted during the pandemic have played a role in the spike of crime. Officers have encountered many repeat offenders, he said, likely a product of policies in which people were released from jail or prison due to the pandemic, and from zero bail.
Garcia, who said he believes in criminal justice reform, added that those being released are not getting the support they need when they reenter society.
“Cities aren’t given the support to then bring those folks back into the pipeline of workforce or education, that causes massive problems,” he said. “I do have a problem with the way folks were released without any sort of support.”
Looking ahead, City Manager Tom Modica said he is pulling together a Safety Response Plan, which is expected to be presented to the City Council in the coming weeks. Overtime for police officers is already a part of that, he said, but will also include aspects from other departments to address public safety as a whole, such as programs and resources.
Luna commended being able to give officers overtime, citing the triple-shooting at the Pike Outlets in downtown on Saturday.
Officers working overtime that night were nearby and were able to respond within one minute to the shooting, which led to them possibly saving one of the victims’ lives and also the arrests of three suspects, he said.