Crime in the city of Los Angeles continued to hit historic lows in 2008, a trend which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and law enforcement officials today credited to more police officers and interagency relationships.
There were 381 murders in 2008, 15 fewer than the previous year, and the lowest number since 1969 when there were 377 homicides. New York and Chicago, in contrast, saw their murder rates increase in 2008.
"From the Valley to Boyle Heights, from West L.A. to South L.A., violence subsided in our neighborhoods. Gang crime continues to decline thanks to the remarkable work and the bravery of the men and women of the LAPD," Villaraigosa said.
Of those 381 murders, 161 occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight, while 94 occurred on a Saturday night or early Sunday morning, said Deputy Chief Charlie Beck. Summer, which officers typically expect to be the most violent time of year, was relatively calm. The 20 murders in July were the fewest number for the month since 1966. August and September numbers also hit almost 40-year lows.
About two-thirds of the murders took place on a sidewalk or in the street, and 85 percent of killings were committed with a gun. Most victims were killed by someone similar to them in age and ethnicity, Beck said. "These are consistent themes that we've seen over the past six years where, especially because about half of these homicides are gang- related, gangs tend to have the most territorial disputes with those most like them," Beck said There were fewer violent crimes than any other year since 1967 and the fewest number of property crimes since 1959. Overall crime was the lowest it has been since 1961.
In 2008, there were 786 rapes; 13,354 robberies; 11,993 aggravated assaults; 19,402 burglaries; 22,268 grand theft auto crimes; 29,870 thefts from vehicles; and 27,112 personal thefts.
Police Chief William Bratton believes crime will continue to decline in 2009 as more police officers are hired. When Bratton came on board six years ago, the LAPD had about 9,600 officers. Today, there are 9,854 officers.
"With those resources, we will be able to keep this city safer, despite the recession, in spite of the concerns of potentially tens of thousands of individuals who may be released from our prison system," Bratton said.
"We live, eat and breath reducing crime. We think about it all the time." Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien and members of the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attended the morning news conference to show the interagency partnerships, which they say has helped to reduce crime.
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office filed the 65tht injunction against a gang last week, something he called a milestone in fighting gang crime. Gang-related homicides declined 24.6 percent in 2008, compared to the previous year. Aggravated assaults were down 15.3 percent, rapes were down 9.5 percent and robberies were down 2.2 percent, according to the LAPD
Los Angeles saw drop in homicides in 2008
AP (Staff)
The Los Angeles Police Department says crime in the nation's second-largest city dropped slightly in 2008 compared to the previous year, marking the sixth successive annual drop. Officials announced Monday there were 381 homicides in 2008, down from 396 the previous year. Violent crimes overall were down 4.2 percent from a year earlier.Property crimes dropped 2.1 percent from 2007's level and gang-related crime was down in all categories except kidnap. The homicide rate, though it still averages out at more than one per day of the year, was last year at its lowest level since 1969.The worst year for homicides in Los Angeles was 1992, when there were 1,092 killings. Police Chief William Bratton credits the drop to a crime-tracking system he has introduced.
