Photo: VALERIE MACON / AFP / Getty Images
crime is on the rise in Los Angeless, and the rising number of homicides is of particular concern to the city and authorities.
Homicides in Los Angeles increased by 2021 almost 12 %, the authorities revealed today Thursday and warned that they are working to prevent the increase in this type of crimes continue.
There was an increase of 94 % in homicides between 2019 and 2021 in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD). In 2019, there was 145 homicides in Los Angeles County, a number that rose to 199 in 2020. Sheriff Alex Villanueva did not specify last year’s homicides, but said he believes that number is around 280.
The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, and the head of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Michel Moore, reported in a press conference that homicides in the city increased 11.8% in 2021 with 397 murders, compared to 355 from 2020.
Join me live with Chief Moore and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez as we share last year’s crime numbers and talk about the steps our police department is taking to build a just and safe city for all Angelenos. https://t.co/1a25 tEPgwl
—MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) January 14, 2022
Garcetti regretted the increase in those crimes, but warned that the pace of homicides stopped in the second half of the year. “To put that in context, I remember the first half of last year, when those numbers were above the 25 %”.
He added that Los Angeles remains one of the most populous cities in the country with the highest security in terms of homicide rate.
Not only did homicides increase in the city of about four million inhabitants, but violent crimes increased 3.9 % and property crimes increased 4.2% in 2021 Over the previous year.
Robberies with firearms increased 13 % throughout the city last year, while the number of people shot increased 9.1% from 1,337 to 1,459 victims of shots at the 2022.
In this regard, Garcetti argued that during the past year “8,550 illegal firearms were removed from our streets”.
“We focused on the ghost (unregistered) guns, including a federal task force we’re a part of, doubling the number of ghost guns seized last year, taking out 2,000 of these firearms from the streets in a great victory”, highlighted.
LAPD Chief Michael Moore said that for 2019 was will allocate more resources against violent crime, as well as to bolster a task force that put more officers on the streets and on foot patrol, engaging with residents and community groups . “Our homicide arrests with those additional resources increased 37 %: 397 Homicide arrests last year,” Moore explained.
The only types of crimes that fell in Los Angeles in 2021 were rapes (6.6% less) and robberies that do not involve an assault (7.1% less).
The report arrives just when in recent days two murders have shocked Los Angeles: that of Fernando Arroyos, of 27 years, an LAPD officer who was out of his service and from whom they allegedly tried to steal a gold chain.
The community also mourns the murder of Alejandro García Galicia, of 41 years old, a Taco Bell worker who died in the middle of a dispute with a customer over a n alleged counterfeit bill of 12 Dollars. In both cases, arrests have already been made.
Other violent crimes on the rise
Last year there was also a significant jump in the burglaries and apparent flash mob, which are those business robberies caused by groups of people breaking windows and stealing items for sale, which led to the Police Department of Los Angeles to form a violent crime task force. Since the formation of the task force, those crimes have decreased, said LAPD Chief Michel Moore.
“The follow-up task force home resulted in three arrests for murder and 11 robbery arrests,” Moore said. “We have had a huge impact on this brazen and disturbing trend that we saw jewelry and other high-end valuables being targeted.”
But one area where the LAPD may need more improvement is in shootings involving officers .
Fatal shootings involving LAPD officers increased to 37 in 2021 Y 18 of these were fatal. That’s more than the 37 officer-involved shootings, seven of which were fatal, in 2020.
A shooting on Christmas Eve that caused the death of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a girl from 14 years in a Burlington locker room, while the LAPD officers were struggling to apprehend an assault suspect, it is particularly concerning to the Los Angeles Police Commission.
“After this review, commissioners will consider new policies designed to preserve life,” said Commissioner William Briggs.
With information from EFE
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– They are looking for a suspect in the murder of a Latino Taco Bell employee in South Los Angeles
– Los Angeles Police is committed to conducting a thorough investigation of the shooting in which Valentina Orellana-Peralta died
– Authority 5 people are arrested in relation to the murder of a Hispanic police officer in an attempted robbery in Los Angeles