I heard a few weeks back about Santa Maria’s appearance on a list of the most violent cities in California, so I’m glad to see that the editors here at the Sun decided to explore that idea with a cover story.
If you skipped right to my column—and I certainly wouldn’t blame you for doing so—you missed learning that an FBI report, which compiles crime reporting from cities all over California, pegged Santa Maria as the 10th most violent city in the state.
Local leaders, predictably, weren’t thrilled at the news, and the mayor and police chief both sought to show how the numbers do lie a bit. One of Mayor Alice Patino’s contentions is that the list was only of cities that can boast a population of at least 100,00, and Santa Maria is just on that cusp. She didn’t see it as fair to be compared to much larger cities, the behemoth sorts that sprawl all over the place and see regular shootings in the streets.
But from my perspective? That makes it even worse. Santa Maria is just barely in the big-city window, and it still ranks among the most violent of the big urban areas. Not good.
Another key argument came from Chief Ralph Martin, who explained that Santa Maria reports its domestic violence stats along with assault numbers, linking the two and creating the impression that a shove (while not a good thing by any means) is on the same level as a shooting. Not every city reports its domestic violence stats the same, so some cities could be looking shinier than they really are.
Of course, quibbling over the severity of partner abuse doesn’t exactly generate good feelings. No one wants to be saying, “Well, slapping her was bad, but not, like, that bad.”
Anyway, after adjusting for technical and reporting details, Martin said, Santa Maria drops to around 21 in the rankings. Considering that the entire list is made up of 68 cities, that’s better than 10, of course, but it’s still not fantastic.
City Manager Rick Haydon raised the point that Santa Maria overshares, like a teenager with fresh Facebook and Instagram accounts. He pegged nearby tourist towns as tight-lipped when it comes to publicizing violent crimes, with leaders hoping to keep happy and posh reputations intact by hushing up when it comes to bruises and blood.
I get what he’s saying—and I fully applaud his assertion that public servants actually answer to, you know, the public, and so have a duty to transparency—but that defense also made me a little sad. It’s sort of a defeatist attitude, too. “They are tourist cities,” he said of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Well, yes. But still. Ouch.
No matter the ranking—10 or 21—I still think Santa Maria is a great place to live. The people are, on the whole, giving and forgiving, and the food is amazing.
And at least we’re not Oakland.
The Canary really does feel safe. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 2-9, 2014.