Killing in Los Angeles drops to 1967 levels, less than 300 a year

[cowcommander]

Source: LA Times

For the first time in more than four decades, Los Angeles is on track to end the year with fewer than 300 killings, a milestone in a steady decline of homicides that has changed the quality of life in many neighborhoods and defied predictions that a bad economy would inexorably lead to higher crime. As of mid-afternoon on Sunday, the Los Angeles Police Department had tallied 291 homicides in 2010. The city is likely to record the fewest number of killings since 1967, when its population was almost 30% smaller.

Longer-term declines are even more notable. The city's homicide rate this year marks a 75% drop from 1992, when 1,092 people were killed during a crack cocaine epidemic and gang wars. Homicides investigated by the Sheriff's Department have dropped by more than half since the mid-1990s. The change, experts say, is not easily explained and is probably the result of several factors working together, including effective crime-fighting strategies, strict sentencing laws that have greatly increased the number of people in prison, demographic shifts and sociological influences.

A significant factor, said Columbia University Law School Professor Jeffrey Fagan, is the absence of a drug epidemic in recent years. The three distinct periods in U.S. history when homicides have spiked, he said, coincide with the emergence of heroin, powder cocaine and crack cocaine, each of which gave rise to "a chaotic, violent street drug culture."



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-crime-20101217,0,1871598.story

[Angry Dragon]

1. Does that include people killed by the police??

[toastbutter]

2. If the article nomenclature is correct... it does

Because homicide refers to a killing of one person by another. It makes no distinction as to justified or unjustified. In my state, homicide can be

1) unlawful (murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, etc.)
2) lawful (justified or excusable)

I don't expect accuracy from these media morons, but they referred to HOMICIDE, which should include all kinds of killings.

[elias7]

24. Depends if it's deemed a homicide

I'm sure you could dig up some stats somewhere if you want some factual information. I find anecdotal pejorative implications tend to exaggerate the truth, feeding rather into one's prejudices.

[Tunkamerica]

3. You mean it wasn't the music?

[Frank Booth]

11. I don't think you can completely dismiss cultural influences.

Fifteen to 20 years ago, gang culture was a lot more prevalent in LA. But it's just not the cool thing anymore. I live in a neighborhood where back in the '90s almost all the kids dressed like gangsters and most tried to act tough, even if they had no real inclination toward violence. Now they dress like indie kids and skateboarders. The culture's not nearly as confrontational as it used to be.

[Tunkamerica]

15. You don't think it's a reflection of the environment? Easy-E would've been a ganster rapper at any

time in any place? Just a bunch of bad people started rapping about the problems in South Central LA all at the same time and, through the power of music, created those same problems?

[Frank Booth]

29. I think the environment influences the music, but also that popular music influences the culture.

I think Eazy-E, NWA, Too Short, etc. figured out they could make a lot of money by glorifying a gangster lifestyle. And white music executives figured out they could make way more money by promoting the music and a self-destructive culture.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Gas cost too much for "Drive By Shootings" ???

[DBoon]

7. no, unemployed can't afford to buy bullets

</snark>

[Ruperto31]

5. Similar figures for NYC

"Violent crime in New York City has decreased in the last fifteen years, and the murder rate in 2007 was at its lowest level since at least 1963."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_City

Maybe it's the increasing usage of anti-depressants and mood elevators. Or marijuana? Certainly social and economic conditions have not improved.

[flamingdem]

6. dude, it's a love in over here nt

[wtmusic]

8. Legalized Abortion and Crime

From 2001:

"Crime is down across America. The nation's crime rate has been dropping for the best part of a decade now, and everyone is keen to take the credit. New York's Mayor Rudy Giuliani claims that zero-tolerance policing is responsible; former California Governor Pete Wilson credits three-strikes-and-you're-out laws; President Bill Clinton says gun control and federal funding for prison construction and new police officers have done their part.

Likely as not, they're all partly right. But what if it turns out that other factors are actually having far more influence on the crime rate than these get-tough policies? Why lock up two million people--more than half of them nonviolent offenders--at a cost of tens of billions of dollars a year and the disruption of untold millions of lives, if the real explanations for the drop in crime lie elsewhere?

Last summer word began circulating, first in the academic community and then in the media, that two professors, John Donohue and Steven Levitt, had found solid evidence of exactly that: They had discovered a link much stronger, more statistically demonstrable, than the link between anticrime policies and crime rates. More shocking still, the link they found was between abortion and crime. Or to be more precise, between the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and the much heralded fall in crime rates starting about 18 years later, in the early 1990s."

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=did_iroe_v_wade/i_abort_crime

[Kaleko]

14. Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. n/t

[jazzhound]

16. The same (astute) author wrote "Democrat Killer":

http://www.thenation.com/article/democrat-killer

[wtmusic]

22. Also very interesting in regards to the politics of New Mexico. nt

[JVS]

9. Eat your heart out, Joe Friday

[Bennyboy]

10. Cannabis legalization has to figure into the stats...

I think. Now that there are so many clubs and legitimate people in the industry the gangs cant control it anymore. Or not as much anymore.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. gangs are moving to the suburbs

Throw in murders for Riverside, San Bernardino and Northern Orange and see where you are.

[toastbutter]

13. Los Angeles is a very spread out city

and has plenty of suburbs fwiw.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

30. I live in one of them

Ten years ago the only "gangs" were roaming white teenagers wearing Snoop Dogg merchandise. Now various Vietnamese and Mexican gangs are making their presence known.

[Kingofalldems]

32. It's you again

[tavalon]

17. Shhhhhh!

Don't mess with the fear factor. It's the only thing that keeps the 24 hour "news" stations going and keeps us afraid. And if we aren't afraid, then what?

[CreekDog]

18. San Francisco reported 45 murders in 2009, lowest since 1961

http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-12-30/news/17461906_1_homicide-drop-killings-police-strategy

[fasttense]

19. It's good to hear but I wonder if it's simply a statistical fabrication.

Several years ago during the bushes administration, statistical methods used to collect crime data were changed. The immediate result was a reduction in crime. I don't think anyone has changed the methodology back to reporting real crime statistics.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

20. Maybe for other s (assault, robbery,etc)

But murder is always reported as murder. To me, Los Angeles feels much safer now than it did in the 80's and 90's.

[FedUpWithIt All]

21. This seems to be happening all over.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/24/AR2010052402210.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1963761,00.html


report from AZ
http://kjzz.org/news/arizona/archives/201009/Crime_Drop

report from Salt Lake City
http://www.silobreaker.com/fbi-violent-crime-rate-decreasing-in-slc-5_2263949988402823243

reports from NC
http://yellowtape.blogs.starnewsonline.com/12880/wilmington%E2%80%99s-crime-rates-show-marked-drops/
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/07/15/1013825?sac=Home

And these are just a few...

[slackmaster]

23. The median age of the population continues to creep upward

A trend that, like many trends, has benefits and drawbacks.

[madrchsod]

25. chicago is also down

[rbixby]

26. I guess the killing industry is hurting in the recession too

[Juche]

27. Is this a global decline or just the US?

If other large cities (SF, NYC, etc) are seeing the same decline in murder, are other nations noticing it too? I thought I read that Canada experienced a decline in the murder rate at the same time that the US did, which made explanations that US policy was responsible not seem as likely and the real cause remained unknown.

[iandhr]

28. Chris Rock said

A bullet should cost five $5,000 dollars.

Not gun control bullet control

[roamer65]

31. I would bet similar drop in crime from the 1920's to the 1930's.

Ecomomic depression cuts through all businesses...legal or illegal.

I'm sure crime went down especially after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.