Long Beach Jewish Life April 2016 | Page 12

Beginning in 2015, and certainly carrying over to 2016, you can say that it's been extra challenging being a police chief anywhere in America. And that includes Long Beach, California, where Police Chief Robert Luna sat down with Long Beach Jewish Life to discuss the state of local law enforcement.

Reflecting upon recent trends in crime, Chief Luna pointed out, “Up until 2014, Long Beach was enjoying historical crime reductions. In 2014, we had 23 murders. That was the lowest number of murders ever recorded in the city of Long Beach.”

Things clearly changed in 2015. By the end of the year, violent crime in Long Beach had increased 18%, and property crime had increased 15%.

Chief Robert Luna

Keeping Long Beach Safe