For 2012 Mission Viejo slipped slightly to 6th-best in major crime statistics. MV was 1st in America in 2007. For the last three years it has ranked 2nd, 4th and 3rd, respectively.
The numbers placed MV again as ‘safest’ in California, while Compton experienced the highest crime rate in the State. Irvine was best in California among cities with populations over 100,000, and it ranked 10th overall in the country.
Following are the top 25 cities:
Other Orange County cities included Lake Forest (21), Newport Beach (43), Orange (44), Huntington Beach (82), Costa Mesa (134), Westminster (139), Buena Park (156), Santa Ana (199), and Anaheim (200). Many OC cities, including all other South OC cities, were not included because their populations were less than 75,000.
The rankings were compiled by CQ Press using FBI statistics, and were based on the number of crimes reported per 100,000 population. Larceny-theft, which comprises about 60% of reported crimes nationally is no longer included in the annual study. That benefits MV where 76% of crimes are theft/larceny. The FBI complained theft crimes created a distortion, because many people perceived safety rankings as being limited to violent crimes.
Here are MV’s reported crimes for the past two years
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With all the Low Income High Density housing the city has approved, it will be interesting to see where we stand in a few years.