Law enforcement officials announced Tuesday that violent crime in Los Angeles is up 2.9% from March 2023, with robberies up 9.5%.
During Tuesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Interim Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi revealed an increase in violent crimes, with 73 homicides this year compared to 57 at this point last 2023, a 28.1% increase.
Choi stated that robberies continue to “plague us as a crime problem.”
He also stated that property crime is down 4.6% compared to the same period last year, and that Los Angeles continues to witness a 3.1% decrease in Part 1 or significant offenses.
While overall violent crime and robberies have increased this year, Choi assured commissioners that homicides are down 6.4% and victims of shootings are down 3.4% from 2022.
Choi reported that robberies with weapons are up 2.9%, gang-related robberies are up 5.3%, and motor vehicle theft is up 6% compared to 2023. Kias, Chevrolets, and Hyundais continue to be the “most stolen” automobiles, while the city has witnessed a 4.6% increase in the theft of E-bikes and scooters, he said.
Despite an uptick in robberies this year, Choi observed that gang-related robberies are down 25.5% and weapon robberies are down 35% compared to 2022.
Burglaries are up 1%, according to the interim chief, who also reports that commercial burglaries are down 6.1%. However, he noted that the number of reported residential burglaries has increased by 4.5%.
Choi emphasized that the crime numbers this week did not include data from the LAPD’s Central Bureau, which could result in some disparities.
Board Vice President Rasha Gerges Shields stated that the data could influence how safe individuals feel, and asked Choi what steps the agency has taken or would take to address such concerns.
Choi stated that the LAPD has “specific strategies” to handle these crimes and trends “at the area level, the bureau level, and even the department-wide level.”
He used the Organized Retail Crime Task Force as an example, and said that the department just established the South American Theft Group Task Force to combat residential burglaries.
“We’ve done a deeper dive to see where these are occurring, what time and focusing our resources at those types of places,” he said.
He said that community events like Coffee With A Cop might help communities feel safer.
“What I’ve learned and what I’ve seen is when the community member has a direct link to an officer, whether it’s the captain or their senior lead officer or patrol officers, that sense of safety goes up because they have somebody to lean on,” he added.
Choi stated in his weekly presentation that the department currently employs 8,866 sworn police and 2,627 civilian people. The number of reserve officers remains at 443.