Commentary: It’s time to stop playing politics and declare war on crime in Huntington Beach

We recently learned that Surf City was engulfed by a violent crime wave so huge that Huntington Beach City Council members and the 204,000 constituents they are sworn to protect and serve should have been shaken to the core.

In a presentation by city staff it was revealed that violent crime in Huntington Beach rose 28% in 2017. The city logged 461 violent crimes last year, 101 more than in 2016.

Just as concerning, there were seven officer-involved shootings — an unprecedented number for Surf City and an indication that police officer training here is woefully inadequate.

These eye-popping statistics mean Huntington Beach is not as safe as it used to or could be. These numbers mean that families are in more danger now than ever before. These numbers confirm what some council members don’t want to believe – Huntington Beach has a real crime problem that demands this council’s utmost attention. Right now.

I do not believe that most residents are “happy with the direction of the police department.”

And I do not find these crime statistics “very encouraging.” If anything they are extremely troubling.

Maybe I am more acute to their significance because, as a former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, I had to stare down and wrestle daily with the violent criminals that fill our jails. I know how dangerous they can be.

It’s time for city leaders to face facts, admit that we have a violent crime problem and do whatever it takes to make us safe again. It’s time for us to wage a war on crime.

Now was not the time to reward Police Chief Robert Handy with a five-year contract extension. To do so, when the record shows that violent crime has increased so significantly on his watch, was irresponsible and disingenuous to taxpayers — especially when we know that violent crime was down in neighboring cities.

That’s why I voted no on his contract extension.

I believe that Chief Handy is an honorable, hardworking professional dedicated to his job. But it is obvious to any objective person that the staggering uptick in violent crime suggests that Chief Handy’s performance to date does not warrant a five-year contract extension.

So why were my six City Council colleagues so eager to overlook such grim violent crime statistics and reward Chief Handy with such a lucrative contract extension?

Some contend that extending his contract would end the “political controversy” stemming from no-confidence votes by our Huntington Beach Police Officers and Police Management Assns.

However, the horrifying spike in violent crime is not rooted in any political controversy. We all know that violent crime did not increase due to clashes over wages and hours between our police associations and city management.

So why is violent crime up by 28% in Huntington Beach? There just aren’t enough cops on the beat.

Mayor Pro-Tem Erik Peterson claims he wants more police on patrol but says Surf City is in a “tough spot.”

Is Newport Beach not in a “tough” financial spot? Santa Ana? Anaheim? Costa Mesa? Yet somehow these City Councils and their police chiefs demonstrated the guts and leadership needed to bring down violent crime in 2016-17.

Nationwide the average number of police officers per capita is 17 per 10,000 people. Today, the average number of police officers per capita in Huntington Beach is just 10 per 10,000.

This number pales in comparison to Newport Beach (16 officers per 10,000 people), Redondo Beach (13 per 10,000), Manhattan Beach (18 per 10,000) and Santa Monica (21 per 10,000).

Yet citing a tilted city-commissioned study, Chief Handy claimed that Huntington Beach is “statistically very safe compared to other cities its size.”

But the aforementioned violent crime statistics from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Santa Ana prove that this notion is nothing more than politically motivated fantasy designed to mislead unsuspecting residents.

It’s time to stop playing politics with our public safety.

The time has come for the City Council to take a leadership role in bringing Chief Handy and our police together to find a solution for our undeniable violent crime challenges.

Before rewarding Chief Handy with a new, expensive long-term contract, he should have been held to account for the violent crime explosion that came on his watch.

Unfortunately, this hasty decision by my council colleagues may have taken away any chance we may have had to do just that.

BILLY O’CONNELL is a member of the Huntington Beach City Council.