The murder rate in the city of Los Angeles continued an upward trend last week, with 11 homicides logged compared to four during the same week in 2020, an LAPD official reported Tuesday.
According to Assistant Chief Horace Frank, there have been 50 murders in the city in the first six weeks of 2021 and 192 shooting victims, versus 31 homicides and 70 shooting victims at the same point in 2020.
Overall, violent crime has increased 0.7%, Frank told the Police Commission, while property crimes throughout the city have decreased in all areas except stolen vehicles.
Frank said the increase in violent crime and homicides is happening in other major U.S. cities, as well, and the LAPD is working with other agencies to advance ways of addressing it.
“We’re not an anomaly when you look at the crime trends, and yes, we are in very close communication with the other major city chiefs, almost on a weekly basis,” Frank said.
“I know Chief (Michel) Moore engaged in meetings with the Police Executive Research Forum and with the (Major Cities Chiefs Police Association) regarding this particular issue,” he said. “What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is what they’re also seeing in places like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, some of the other major cities.”
Frank said the department is “on the right track” in developing strategies, and police departments are working to implement each other’s best practices.
“It’s important that we do continue to engage in (gang reduction and youth development), that we continue to use those best practices that have gotten us those reductions in the past and we should stick to it,” Frank said.
“We have to stick with our youth diversion programs because part of this also is that whole issue of prevention, making sure we have resources available to at-risk youths, at-risk individuals to steer them away from going down those bad paths.”
Citing similarly sharp increases in shootings countywide, Supervisor Hilda Solis called Tuesday for a comprehensive set of intervention and prevention strategies to prevent gang and gun violence along with the funding to implement them.
“Unfortunately, in my district, the first, it’s overwhelmed with another layer of trauma taking the form of gun and gang-related violence and homicides, which has increased anywhere from 20% to 48% throughout the county, according to several sources,” Solis said. “These senseless acts are taking the lives of innocent people.”
She highlighted the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Gabriela Elizabeth Deharo Perez on Jan. 3 in West Covina as one example.
Solis hopes to be able to coordinate anti-violence strategies across various jurisdictions countywide.
A report from county staffers led by the Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention is expected back in 30 days.