LAPD: fewest summer homicides in 40 years

Amid the ongoing drop in overall city crime rates, Los Angeles recorded the fewest number of summer homicides in more than 40 years.

From the beginning of June through the end of August, there were 84 homicides in Los Angeles -- a level of relative calm not seen since the summer of 1967, when the city had 79 killings. By comparison, summer bloodshed in the city peaked in 1991, when there were 323 slayings during the same three months.

Police Chief William J. Bratton highlighted the numbers during his weekly briefing Tuesday to the Police Commission, the civilian body that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. So far this year, he said, all categories of violent and property crimes, including rape, robbery, aggravated assault and homicide, are lower than the comparable 2007 figures. The number of reported rapes, for example, is down by more than 14%, and the year's homicide rate is down by 8.5%, spurred in part by a 27% drop in gang-related killings.

"Its a continuing good-news story that's moving forward," Bratton said.

The department, he said, is on pace to meet its goal of a 5% overall drop in the so-called Part 1 crimes this year. Bratton attributed the continued decline in part to "putting cops on the dots" -- sounding his oft-repeated mantra that refers to the department's use of detailed crime maps to redeploy officers to hot spots. Early efforts in the mayor's revamped anti-gang initiative and the hiring of hundreds of new officers are also contributing, Bratton said.

—Joel Rubin

Comments

[Kim Smith]

LAPD HAS PUT MOREOFFICERS ON THE STREET AND THEIR PRESENCE KEEPS THE CRIMESDOWN. IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT CRIMES AND MURDERSDID GO DOWN AT A TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN THEY ARE MOST HIGH. OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND CITIZENS NEED TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED TO HELP KEEP THIESE CRIMES DOWN

[OG DTANEK 213/818/916]

why do you post this? like LAPD is responsible for a "decrease" in murders, let me tell you , ONE MURDER, is too much, report it when a "SIGNIFICANT" drop has reached, but 8%, PLEASE!!!! funny how you guys "GLORIFY" this, ............" YEAH!! ONLY 80 PEOPLE GOT MURDERED, AND NOT 90, WHOOOHOOOOOO!!!

[Ramon]

The 485 victims this year will be glad to hear what a great job LAPD did.

[aric]

The 485 victims were not murdered by the LAPD; they were killed by members of your own community.

I live on the east coast (Harrisburg PA) and have lived in a few cities; Baltimore, DC; we have crime here, like any urban area but reading the Homicide Report it seems what is literally killing your city and residents is gang activity....I pray that madness never comes east. And looking over who is killed is the truly scary part; it seems many of the folks listed on the Homicide Report are innocent bystanders.

[Rhonda]

You guys don't know if your coming or going lowest summer of deaths yeah right

[local gangbanger]

all 485 of them people didn't get killed in LA alone..sum was killed in inglewood, compton, etc..so if you just focus on how many people got killed in LA alone then you'll see that it has been a good summer..compared to the 90's at least

[KIM SMITH]

the article just said LA but is talking about the entire LA County whci does include those surrounding cities that gangbanger mention. whatever the case is we all need to become assistant officers of the law and start becoming involved in our communities and reporting crimes that we have seenor are aware of. start reporting those we know or haveseen engage in crimal activities to help clean up our communities our cities the job should not be just left up to law enforcement . weneed to start educating our children not to get involved in gangs or criminal activities that could possibly lead them to jail or their own coffin. this is not just a problem of certain areas it's a problem all over even in other states we have all fell prey of this but with the help of eachother and lawenforcement it can be braught under control

[KAN]

485 TOO MANY

[PeterW]

Surely the analysis would be better to compare rates ? What was the rate of murders per 100,000 population over the last 50 years ? Otherwise you are not comparing like with like.