“For the first time in 5 years, violent crime and homicides are [down] in L.A.” Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore tweeted cheerfully on Sunday afternoon.
In fact, homicides are on track to be the lowest in 50 years in California’s largest city.
LAPD officers courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department
“This is not a coincidence,” Moore wrote, crediting “the hardworking men and women of the LAPD” who he said have “committed themselves to our crime-fighting strategy that hinges on treating public safety as a shared responsibility.”
In addition to the LAPD’s own numbers, data estimates released this month by the Brennan Center for Justice also show LA’s overall crime ending down for 2018 by 3.3 percent, with violent crime dropping 3.4 percent over 2017, and the homicide rate down by 9.9 percent.
Los Angeles County, which is patrolled by the LA County Sheriff’s Department, is showing numbers that are similarly down, according to the LASD-–with Compton as the only outlier.
Other CA Cities
In San Francisco, both the Brennan data, and the stats of San Francisco PD, show the homicide rate predicted to drop by 26 percent this year, coming close to the lowest number in more than 50 years.
“We are extremely pleased with where we are with violent crime at this point in the year, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Police Chief Bill Scott told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s no magic formula, but what we try to do is implement strategies.”
(Scott, if you’ll remember, was a veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, and was shortlisted in May of this year for the position of chief, which ultimately went to then-assistant chief, Mike Moore.)
San Diego’s murder rate is also down, although overall crime is up a bit, according to the Brennan Center report.
Oakland, too saw a slight dip in its homicide rate in 2018.
Causes and effects
As Cindy Chiang of the LA Times points out in her story on the crime drop, when violent crime began climbing in 2014, there were many—including former LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell-–who pointed to reform-minded ballot propositions like Prop. 47, passed in 2014, for the upward creeping stats, since Prop 47 in particular reduced many low level-felonies to misdemeanors, thus keeping certain lawbreakers out of jail.
As WLA reported in March of this year, a then-new study conducted at UC Irvine by Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law & society, and Bradley Bartos, a doctoral student in criminology, at UCI’s School of Social Ecology, argued that the blamed heaped on Prop 47 was misplaced. Prosecutors disagreed.
So why is crime down now? There is likely an interweave of causes but, when talking to the LAT’s Chiang, Kubrin suggested that better trust between law enforcement and the communities they police has been shown to be an important factor, according to a list of reports.
As it happens, both LAPD Chief Moore, and newly elected LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva have talked a lot about the high value they place on community policing, and other strategies—like the LAPD’s 21st Century in Community Policing Initiative announced in October 2018—that increase productive relationships between officers and community members.
All law enforcement agencies try to use homicides as an indicator of reduced crime. All homicides do is indicate if the suspect was a good shot or not. Aggravated assaults with firearms are a more reliable indicator. In this case there was only a 1.3 percent difference between 2017 and 2018. Smoke and mirrors…..
Oh yeah, and police officer deaths were up to 144 in 2018 versus 129 in 2017.
Leading the charge of Crimes & Consequences was the firing of 84th U.S.Attorney General Jeff Sessions, enough said.
Chicago murders are down!!!! Decriminalization is working. Yay yay yay!!!
Chicago murder numbers were more than Los Angeles and New York combined.
I love when agenda seekers post articles and stats that make them look really simplistic and naive. It exposes them for who they really are.
Amazing how violent crimes are down without the wall.
Gentlemen, let us not forget that crime is significantly down from the peak in the early 90s, across the nation. That is without the wall. And, with every police department claiming they are doing something special in their city.
Bandwagon will revert to littering, if has to, to make his point that we are all still in danger and only the fine man in uniform can save us. Of course, that does not count the fine LAPD or LASD officers to rape cadets or victims of sexual abuse. Amazing.
Ownership, in case you have not heard, the murder rate in Chicago was down in 2018 from 2017, and in 2017 it was down from the peak in 2016, and in 2016, it was still much lower than the peak in the early 90s. I’m not sure that counts the crimes of the very own CPD, the “few bad apples” that tortured confessions out of people or that shot people or that falsified reports. It may be up if we start counting those crimes.
But, alas, to the man with the badge the sky is always falling.
Oh yeah…all those homes with “fences”, in gated communities, guard patrols and security systems had something to do with crime being down too.
It’s amazing (or really not so amazing) how the neutral media is suddenly so quiet about that failed progressive experiment which is the Rahm Emmanuel lead city of Chicago. Black on black crime, murders are still the norm but the media outlets are quiet. Maybe they don’t want this blaring example of their failed social engineering narrative being seen by the American people?
It’s very hypocritical for a party that claims to care about the lives of the under-represented and less fortunate just sit back and do nothing as black males continue to die everyday in a Chicago and the homeless population grows and continues to live in squalor in a California.
All this while screaming nonsense and blaming President Trump for their failed policies and leadership,
Heck..even outgoing Governor Brown’s own party is looking to “modify” Propositions 47 and 57. Let’s not pat ourselves on the back just yet. I’m sure victims of property crime or legislatively defined “non-violent” crimes would beg to differ in saying “crime is down”.
Let’s no cherry pick time frames for comparisons to try and prove a point or validate a weak arguement. Let’s try and keep the comparisons in the same decade….hell…the same century.
I appreciate the men and women in law enforcement that we entrust to keep us safe and protect us everyday. There are bad people in every profession, “outliers”, and am not so naive to use broad brush strokes to condemn an entire group of people or profession.
CF???? What’s your point about crime being down in 2018 from 16’ 17’ and the 90’s??
Is Chicago a success in your eyes? You could not sound more ignorant.
Just admit the “Lefts” policies have failed the people they espouse to care about for decades.
Spare with me the neverending blame game with attacks on the “Left’s” for failed policies.
You have to do better than that with your supersized comment. It’s always the “Left”, Geez!
Explain to me the mass exodus of the legitimate “Rights” who would rather leave than listen to a clueless “Orange”.
You are spared…done!
CF:. Good to hear from you…..heard you were vacationing in Venezuela with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Keep up the good work… Lenin would be proud of u both!
Ownership, my point is that crime is down. To a cop like yourself the solution is always more cops and more prisons because you believe the world is going to hell in a hand basket (actually, you think people of color are taking it there) and only men with guns and badges can save us. So, my point is that despite your histrionics about the sky falling, it is not. And, we do not need more cops or more prisons.
And, no, Chicago is not a success story, as Los Angeles is not also. Neither are the majority of cities and towns in the Kentucky or Tennessee or Alabama, or Georgia, etc. What is your point? I think there is much work to do across the country, although I would rather live in LA and California than in anywhere in south where they wait for the south to rise again.
As one of those people of color you claim to care so much about and defend against those “leftist” policies you abhor, I say do not save me or us. Go save your ilk [WLA edit]. Go save the coal miner sitting in the front of the mine waiting for Trump to bring back coal. Please, go save them.
Bandwagon, thank you. And I was under the mistaken belief you did not care. I always knew I give meaning to your life. Actually, Alexandria is not bad looking and given what she accomplished in beating Crowley, who had to go, I would not mind meeting her. You must admit that for 28 year old young woman to beat an incumbent like Crowley is quite a feat. By the way, why do you think there are 89 women Democrats in congress but only 13 Republican women. I welcome your insight.
Not a single Democratic politician had said anything regarding the tragic death of Officer Sing on Christmas. No word of condolence for his family or voice of support to the members of the small police department. I’m sure his death is felt hard to both his family and the department. The question I ask myself is why?
Is it because they simply don’t care? Is it because it contradicts their message of pro-illegal immigration and lack of border security? Maybe it’s because the entire Democratic party in the state of California and it’s judiciary have formed the opinion anything they can do to stop President Trump, whether it be legislated Sactuary City and state laws that protect illegal-immigrants criminals at the expense of legal residents or just silence? What about Officer Singh, who by the way was a productive, contributing legal immigrant to this country, and his widow and baby? Who looks out for theme?
Lefty Left wing Democrats.. …thumbs down all around?
I’m sure your blanket opinion of Democrats include the Democratic Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Many great Law Enforcement Officers lean towards the left which shouldn’t matter when we go 10-8. The majority of public unions also lean left, thus the Blue Wave in California. When your personal opinion collides with your profession you might consider leaving California to join those who share your distaste of people who typically don’t look like you or share your political views. As far as Trump is concerned, he is self destructing and if you don’t believe me, ask Mattis, Zinke and Kelly who quit rather than work for someone who is totally inept. The turnover of those in key oval office positions is staggering and unprecedented.
…..and many Democrsts used to be “moderates “ and are not happy the way the party has been hijacked. Just listen to speeches by Schumer, President Clinton, President Obama and even Governer Brown. Their views of the past as espoused in their speeches were more in line with President Trump of today.
The Democratic Party of today has allowed itself to become “far left” and is being led by folks who say abolish ICE, demonize enforcers of the law, support ANTIFA, only believe in free speech if it’s passes their “litmus test”, believe in guilty until proven innocent as was the case of Justice Kavansugh and tout socialist ideologies that are not practical.
There are many dis-heartened Democrats who have either jumped ship or just don’t vote. People seem to forget, President Trump was not the chosen party-line candidate for the Republican party but rather an outsider.
Maybe the Democrats could learn a lesson from this. No one wants far left or far right anything, although the powers that be like to push the narrative to maintain the status quo and keep the dirty, bug infested swamp filled to the brim.
Just glad that Richard SICKton aka Major Thong removed himself from the blog…
CF: Race Race Race…. Blah Blah Blah. When it comes to people, I’m color blind. I’m driven by policy ultimately.
I despise Romney as much as I despise Sharpton. I despise Newsom as much as I despise Cortez.
I despise Trump as a person but think his policies are, for the most part, incredibly good for the country.
I would still vote for a Rice/West ticket in a heartbeat.
So save your racial Bullshit, it’s Fucking old.
Policies and agendas is what drives me.
Waiting on your next cliche to fit your narrative that your BFF is black.
And for you to think that Trump’s policies are incredibly good for the most part?
Get outta here!
Let’s Hear More, to answer your question, the State, that is who. The State will look after Officer Signh and his family. The State arrested the man who shot him. The State will prosecute the man who shot him. The State will send him to prison for life or sentence him to die. The State will pay the widow benefits for the loss. The State will and the State does. As it should be. I have no problem with that. How about the 2 kids that died in ICE custody? Who looks out for them? Should we?
Ownership, do you even believe what you say? Everyone you mentioned that you despise are the same ones Trump claims to despise. Just because you do not use the N-word does not mean you aren’t racist. And, the fact that you like Clarence Thomas or went to see Frankie croon while Sammy Davis tapped dance does not mean you are not racist. The fact that you wear a MAGA hat instead of a white hood does not mean you are not racist.
The signs of the times are self explanatory, nationwide.
Dearest CF, I have been reading this site for 2 years. There is only one post that YOU did not comment on race. I even acknowledged that fact, it was about a month ago. You my friend are probably the most racist person on this site. Everything you make a post, except the one time, you have to bring up race and your hatred for cops.
Yes, CF does bring up race in a major percentage of his/her posts, however race in conversations should not be discounted if race is involved. There is no place like America and racism will always exist but I do not believe that racism is rooted in EVERY single social issue.
I concur with your very last sentence.
Daryll,
Cliche is hopping on the “you’re a racist” crap just because someone has differing policies than.
Find a new game
Torrance has not had a great start to the new year.