Villaraigosa, Beck praise 9% drop in major crimes during 2009, part of a seven-year trend
As The Times reported last week, serious violent and property-related crime in the city dropped about 9% compared to the previous year. The declines continued a seven-year trend that includes a 17% drop since Villaraigosa took office four years ago.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell by 69 to 314 – the lowest since 1967. Police and prevention specialists also made inroads in gang-related crime, which dropped by 11%.
Unlike the early 1990s, when killings peaked in the city amid the crack cocaine epidemic with more than 1,000 homicides each year, the dramatic decline in bloodshed has meant a more manageable workload for detectives, Beck said. That, in turn, he said, led to the department making an arrest or otherwise closing 83% of its homicide cases in 2009 – far above the national average.
The mayor and Beck, who were joined by City Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilman Dennis Zine and Police Commission President John Mack, struck familiar notes of praise and prodding for the council. The council has backed the mayor’s long-running push to hire more cops, but has grown increasingly resistant to the idea amid the city’s worsening fiscal crisis.
Since taking the LAPD’s top job in November, Beck has warned that an erosion of the department ranks would jeopardize the LAPD’s ability to continue the aggressive crime-fighting strategies and cooperation with community groups he credits with ongoing gains.
“It is inexplicable why these crime numbers are so good except for one thing: cops count, effective policing matters,” he said. “That’s what makes these numbers what they are.”
Villaraigosa said the ongoing improvements in safety have been an important factor in helping to salvage the city’s tourism industry amid a dire fiscal crisis. “Even in these difficult times, people come here, in no small part, because it’s safe,” he said.
Beck declined to offer a projection for crime rates in 2010, saying he and his command staff would do so in coming weeks. Placing pressure squarely on the shoulders of the City Council, which holds the city’s purse strings, Beck said another year of falling crime was possible if the department is “properly staffed and properly funded.”
--Joel Rubin at LAPD headquarters
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EDITOR'S PICKS:
LAPD wants everyone to take a pay cut, but them. With the money LAPD paid in OT more officers could have hired. Other city employees have families that just as important as the LAPD families. No wonder LAPD thinks they are Above the law.
Posted by: Lornaj | January 06, 2010 at 06:53 PM
Please forgive my lack of decorum - and it gives me no pleasure to dampen the festivities, but the emperors new clothes are not truly new. Many of the labels are low-quality knock-offs.
Sorry Charlie - the "good" numbers are not inexplicable.
The numbers may actually be less than good.
What you are calling crime rates are not "rates".
A rate is a ratio.
What you are calling a rate is a actually a "count".
A rate would be the relationship between two counts.
Such as "murders per capita".
"number of stolen automobiles per total registered vehicles"
"accidents per thousand vehicle miles"
"assaults per student"
We have'nt had a 9% drop in the crime rate.
The rate hasn't dropped, the count dropped.
BECAUSE WE HAD A 9% DROP IN OUR POPULATION COUNT!
OR POSSIBLY EVEN MORE THAN THAT!
Which for many reasons is NOT good news.
If anyone wishes to dispute this - may I suggest some
sources of data for year over year analysis.
1.) public and private schools from day-care through high
school for enrollment numbers.
2.) Dept. of Motor Vehicles for number of vehicles registered per zip code.
3.) Dept. of Water and Power and the Gas Co. for number of active residential meters and current ratio of turn-on orders to shut-off orders.
4.) truck and trailer rental firms for geographic flow of one-way rental and drop-offs.
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Posted by: p.f. stone | January 06, 2010 at 06:58 PM
I think the Three Strikes Law is also helping take violent people permanently off the streets (and reducing violent crime). If you can't stop yourself from committing three felonies in one state (most people don't even commit one, much less three), then you have no impulse control and are an ongoing danger to society.
Posted by: Mike | January 07, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Check the FBI web site, crime has been going down nationwide. So Tony, it's not because of you. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/2009prelimsem/table_3.html
Posted by: Fed Up | January 07, 2010 at 09:10 PM