Politics & Government

Los Alamitos Trails Other O.C. Cities When It Comes to Safety

The 405 corridor between Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley has a higher crime rate than many other areas in Orange County, according to a report released by the FBI.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Los Alamitos had a population five times bigger than Fountain Valley. The opposite is true.

Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley are vastly different in size—Fountain Valley is about five times larger population-wise—but they have almost identical crime statistics, according to the recently released statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The FBI's 2010 Uniform Crime Report shows that both Los Alamitos and nearby Fountain Valley average 25 crimes per 1,000 residents, a total that puts both cities near the tail end of Orange County cities. Seal Beach averages 23.6 crimes, while Huntington Beach averages 26.5.The worst performing city in Orange County, based on the statistics, is Brea at 39.9, a rate higher than larger cities such as Santa Ana (23.8) and Anaheim (28.5)

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Fountain Valley's total is 24.96 crimes per 1,000, while Los Alamitos' is 25.04 per 1,000. They are ranked 25th and 26th, respectively. Seal Beach is No. 21.

In Orange County, Laguna Woods was the safest city for populations of less than 20,000 with 6.5 crimes per 1,000 residents; a large portion of Laguna Woods is comprised of a Leisure World community.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Laguna Woods is actually seventh in the state, and directly behind it is Rancho Santa Margarita, which has the lowest rate of crime with populations more than 20,000. RSM, with its population of 49,665, has 7.9 crimes per 1,000.

Included in the crime report are murder, rape, robbery, assault, total property crimes, burglary, larceny-theft, auto theft and arson.

Trailing Rancho Santa Margarita for safest city honors in the 20,000-plus category are Los Altos (28,652 population, 8.4 crimes per 1,000 residents), Lincoln (50, 936; 9.3), Saratoga (30,692; 9.4) and Laguna Niguel (64,812, 10.5). 

Here is a list of Orange County cities with population and crimes per 1,000:

  1. Laguna Woods (18,286), 6.5)
  2. Rancho Santa Margarita (49,665), 7.9
  3. Laguna Niguel (64,812), 10.5
  4. Aliso Viejo (41,989), 11.3
  5. Villa Park (5,991), 12.7
  6. Mission Viejo (94, 679), 12.7
  7. Yorba Linda (66,813), 12.9
  8. San Clemente (62,796), 13.4
  9. Irvine (217,193), 13.4
  10. Lake Forest (75,780), 13.9
  11. La Palma (15,733), 14.4
  12. San Juan Capistrano (35,241), 15.4
  13. Laguna Hills (31,909), 17.3
  14. Cypress (47,320), 18.0
  15. Dana Point (35,888), 18.4
  16. Placentia (50,237), 18.5
  17. Orange (137,606), 19.8
  18. Stanton (37,912), 21.1
  19. Laguna Beach (24,147), 22.8
  20. Tustin (72,982), 23.2
  21. Seal Beach (24,225), 23.6
  22. La Habra (59,355), 23.7
  23. Santa Ana (340,240), 23.8
  24. Garden Grove (166,287), 24.8
  25. Fountain Valley (55,879), 25.0 (24.96)
  26. Los Alamitos (11,698), 25.0 (25.04)
  27. Huntington Beach (193,545), 26.5
  28. Newport Beach (81,882), 28.0
  29. Buena Park (79,929), 28.1
  30. Anaheim (338,492), 28.5
  31. Costa Mesa (110,424), 31.1
  32. Westminster (89,604), 31.2
  33. Fullerton (113,139), 32.1
  34. Brea (38,725), 39.9


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