Long Beach’s number of reported crime has decreased by 19% over the past two decades, according to a new report.
While the Long Beach Police Department continues to work on increasing staffing, community members advocate for more safety measures — and there’s a looming city budget deficit — officials say Long Beach is making progress in public safety.
“We’re having some real momentum on public safety right now,” Mayor Rex Richardson said. “Long Beach is making some incredible progress and, occasionally, we do release 20-year crime data that allows us to really put it in perspective.
The report, with data from 2004 to 2024, includes numbers on homicides, robberies, and aggravated assaults and other violent crimes.
Over the 20 years, Long Beach has experienced a 19% reduction in total violent crime, according to the report. This includes reductions of 23% in homicides, 35% in robberies and 11% in aggravated assaults.
However, Long Beach saw an increase of rapes/sexual assaults, which went from 137 to 208 — a 52% difference.
City leaders said this isn’t unique to Long Beach — a bad trend happening nationwide. They attributed the rise to a 2013 change in the definition of rape and awareness spurred by the Me Too Movement — which prompted many victims of sexual violence to step forward.
Long Beach Police Department Chief Wally Hebeish, left, leads scores of law enforcement officers onto the track for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Special Olympics Southern California Summer Games on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at Cal State Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
So far this year, that rate has gone down nearly 5% compared to 2024, Police Chief Wally Hebeish said.
“We are trending downward, and the focus is to continue trending downward,” Hebeish said. “We do want to encourage reporting because those are such sensitive and impactful crimes.”
During the same 20-year period, property crime in Long Beach went up by 7%. However, as of August, property crime has decreased by 24% compared to the same time last year, Hebeish said.
“At the beginning of the year, we were hearing our business community talk about some of their quality-of-life concerns,” Hebeish said, “some of those lower-level crimes that impact their ability to operate.”
Long Beach police started a business-safety and crime-reduction initiative — called E3 — which focuses on enforcement, education and engagement.
Long Beach has released historical crime statistics in the city over the course of the past 20 years. Data shows that property crime has experienced a slight increase of 7%. (Graphic courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
Long Beach has released historical crime statistics in the city over the course of the past 20 years. Data shows that Long Beach has experienced a 19% reduction in total violent crime from 2004 to 2024. (Graphic courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
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Long Beach has released historical crime statistics in the city over the course of the past 20 years. Data shows that property crime has experienced a slight increase of 7%. (Graphic courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
Also, to address shootings and overall crime, the city has launched its STRONG Beach Initiative, focused on youth. This summer, the city offered more than 65 programs for youth.
LBPD has been actively engaged, mentoring and developing youth who live in Long Beach through its Youth Leadership Academy, as well as Explorer and Cadet programs, Hebeish said.
“Connecting to the children in our community and getting them occupied with something positive, and giving them a path for success,” he said. “I think that definitely contributes and helps when you look at the summer months and the reduction in crime, too.”
The department’s High Crime Focus Team, established in 2024, has also been instrumental in reducing shootings and gun-related crime throughout the city, officials said. The team has supported the property crime operation and increased the department’s ability to focus on “unique crime and safety concerns,” and meets daily to review crime data, share intelligence, and develop focused plans for effective crime reduction operations built around summer-month historical crime patterns.
“(We’re) working with the other city departments and all of our great partners in the community to really have this shared responsibility,” Hebish said, “and focus on reducing crime and enhancing safety in the city of Long Beach.”
Various factors might influence an area’s crime rate, including its population density and economic conditions, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In two decades, Long Beach’s population has grown. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city’s population was approximately 461,522, and in the 2010 census, it grew to 462,257. The most recent census, in 2020, shows Long Beach’s current population at 466,742.
Long Beach put great care into the report, City Manager Tom Modica said, to get a more distinct grasp on historical crime trends in the city — and to account for changes in how crimes are reported.
In 2022, for example, LBPD began transitioning from a Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) program to the current National Incident-Based Crime Reporting System (NIBRS) — which would explain increases in certain crime statistics, city leaders said.
Under UCR, multiple crimes committed during one incident were categorized by simply reporting the most serious offense; the other lesser offenses would not be considered for reporting requirements. Under the new system, details on each crime — alongside separate offenses within the same incident — including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes, are now including in reports, according to the city.
“We are a database organization, and we look at where we need to put our resources, and what the crime stats are telling us,” Modica said in an interview. “That’s why the report was so important.”
Long Beach is in one of the safest periods in its recent history, Richardson said, with the city just experiencing its “safest summer” in the past five years. Data from September shows that there was a significant reduction in shootings, gun violence, and homicides.
Historical data is just one way the city and police department determine whether or not there is an impact on public safety; they also evaluate year-after-year crime trends and statistics, talking to the community, city partners, and elected officials.
“We look at that feeling of safety that our department is built around, the community policing philosophy, and wanting to ensure our residents feel safe,” Hebeish said. “That means connecting with all of our partners in the city to activate parks, to be out, to be visible, to be accessible during those summer months.”
The city and police department also consider changing factors, such as legislative changes, societal concerns, what the community wants from LBPD, the criminal justice system, and any reforms that have taken place that may impact the Long Beach community’s safety.
Recently, residents have brought up public safety concerns to city officials.
Second Street in Belmont Shore on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Public safety in Belmont Shore caught the public’s eye last month when an altercation erupted at a local bar and continued outside in the 100 block of La Verne Avenue, which ended in a fatal shooting.
Long Beach will study a proposed late-night public safety plan for Belmont Shore after councilmembers and residents expressed concerns about the popular nightlife area being unruly, while also researching ways to bring additional safety measures to the rest of the city. The proposed plan includes a midnight curfew for bars in the Belmont Shore area and increased police presence, among other safety measures.
“Even when bad things do happen, I think how we respond to them matters,” Richardson added. “We’re seeing a high close rate when an incident does happen. We’re seeing our police are showing up. The incident in Belmont Shore, they showed up within two minutes, and were able to have the subject within 24 hours.”
The police department is facing some challenges with a growing mismatch between an increased workload and the resources available to meet expectations, according to Hebeish. Across the country, including in Long Beach, law enforcement continues facing historic recruitment and retention challenges.
Long Beach and LBPD have had a consistent focus on staffing for the past couple of years, city officials said. The city has had four back-to-back academies and is preparing to graduate its fifth, and will be opening its new police academy facility soon.
The police department’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year was estimated to be a total of about $344 million, which prioritized a strategic, forward-looking plan based on operational efficiency, workforce development and innovation, and modernized service delivery.
This included reorganizing to create a societal crimes section, adding eight full-time employees to expand the Community Service Assistant Program and creating a supervisory rank to enhance service delivery, and adjusting the budget to recognize the end of the Metro A Line policing program.
Despite fiscal challenges and a looming deficit, Long Beach’s $3.7 billion budget is balanced and includes funds to continue programs and initiatives that have helped reduce crime rates, Modica said. Long Beach is still facing a $60.5 million general fund deficit through the 2031 fiscal year.
“We’ve been frugal, we’ve made some small investments, and we’ve used the Recovery Act dollars wisely,” Modica said. “We’ll be looking at all the different structures and if we do have to make reductions, we’re going to try to make the ones that have the least impact on the community and also the least on this, but yeah, it’s something to be concerned about, not for this next summer, but for the year after that.”
Public safety, however, is going to continue to be a top priority for the city, officials said. Long Beach and the police department remain focused on reducing crime and enhancing safety throughout the city.
“Long Beach is a data-driven, well-managed city with a great reputation,” Richardson said. “We face the very same challenges every major city faces, but we address them.
“We’re going to continue to make that progress, but that means we have to continue our focus on the basics of delivering core city services and focusing on staffing,” Richardson added. “Long Beach is, in fact, a city on the rise.”