Los Angeles leaders are promoting the last batch of crime data as proof that the city is safe and becoming safer, at least on paper.
Homicides decreased approximately 14% in the city last year compared to 2023, while 225 people were hit by shooting throughout the city in the same period, according to the figures published on Monday.
The total number of homicides fell in 47 in areas patrolled by the LAPD, with the San Fernando Valley seeing the greatest percentage decrease of the four geographical offices of the department, with a 28% decrease in the murders last year since 2023.
The city and police officers attributed decreases to programs aimed at some of the historically problematic housing developments in the city. The areas where the LAPD Community Security Association and the mayor's gang intervention office have taken proactive measures to involve residents “saw a 40% reduction in homicides, the city said in a statement.
Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell held a press conference on Monday morning to announce anti-violence initiatives.
“This progress is the direct result of the tireless work of our law agents, community leaders and residents who have joined to build a safer and stronger city,” Bass said in a statement. “While we recognize this progress, we remain committed to maintaining these reductions and ensuring that each resident feels safe in their home, in their street and in their community.”
McDonnell described the decreased homicide and shooting numbers a reflection of “the impact of our continuous commitment to public safety and the strength of our associations with the community.”
The authorities also pointed out the successful efforts to stop the flow of illegal weapons in the streets of the city. The authorities confiscated approximately 7,600 firearms last year, and said that one in 10 was an unregistered “ghost gun”. The shootings fell approximately 19% last year since 2023, according to the latest data.
“While we celebrate this progress, there is still a job to do and we realize that if you were a victim of the crime, these numbers may not have weight. We listen to you, ”McDonnell said in a statement. “The LAPD is still committed to ensuring that each resident feels safe in their neighborhood.”
The numbers reported on Monday differed only slightly from the bass and McDonnell highlighted in December as evidence of public security improvements.
The decreases were even more dramatic this time in certain categories, including a 50% reduction in gang -related homicides. The downward trend continues despite a reduction police department, economic turbulence and a high demand for services aimed at housing, mental health and substance use disorders.
On Monday, Bass and McDonnell also accredited proactive application efforts, such as the creation of working groups to address a retail crime and the theft of overwhelming copper.
Bass touched the statistics of positive crimes while facing the threat of a retreat. His supporters have called the group behind the “Rico Oligarchs” campaign, pointing out the participation of his opponent of the Mayor's Office, the real estate developer Rick Caruso.
The group recently published a campaign video that focused largely on the management of Bass of the Palisades fire, but also mentioned the financial perspective of the city and the perception of the growing illegality under its clock.
Criminologists have long warned that the reasons why crime and falls are raised are complex, and police data offer only a snapshot in time. LAPD officials have offered a discharge of responsibility that comparisons year after year are almost impossible for certain types of crimes since the department changed to a new record maintenance system this year.
The changes, which the department has said that they were necessary to comply with federal reports, have made it difficult to obtain a precise vision of how robberies, robberies and other crimes have increased or fallen throughout the city of previous years.
The statistics of 2024 continue a decrease in the years in serious crimes of the Pandemics of COVID-19. Even with the decrease in the number of serious crimes, public security anxieties were a central issue in recent elections. The voters expelled progressive prosecutors in Los Angeles and Alameda counties after the campaigns in which the crime was a central issue, and also flatly approved the hard measure of proposal 36, which extends prison sentences for some robberies and drug crimes.
McDonnell has publicly said that he is encouraged to see the fall in crime, but that officials needed to remain attentive. At the same time, he said, thefts are still a concern in divisions such as Topanga, Devonshire and Southwest. The department has explored the use of drones on the western side of the city, similar to cities like Beverly Hills.
Police detectives recently broke a robbery team, known as the Uber Eats team, whose members were supposedly disguised as Uber or Amazon's delivery drivers while stirring Casas, McDonnell said.
