LAPD Chief Beck ‘fairly confident’ crime will decline for 11th year
With two-thirds of 2013 in the books and statistics continuing to fall, Los Angeles is on track to see its 11th consecutive year of declining crime, Police Chief Charlie Beck announced Thursday.
Beck told reporters that, given the numbers, he was “fairly confident” the city would see another year of decreasing crime. But the chief said officials were keeping their eye on another milestone.
If the numbers hold, Beck said, the city could end the year with under 100,000 “Part 1” crimes -- which include murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary and theft -- for the first time since the early 1950s.
Homicide Report: Track every killing in L.A. County
“It will be an amazing accomplishment if it holds true,” Beck said.
Through the end of August, overall violent crimes dropped 11.2% compared with the same period last year — down 1,397 incidents, city figures showed.
The number of homicides also continued to fall. The city has recorded 185 killings so far in 2013 -- down 10% from the 206 recorded during the same period last year. Los Angeles saw a record-low 298 homicides in 2012.
City figures revealed drops in the remaining violent crime categories: rapes were down 28.5%, robbery down 11.2% and aggravated assaults down 9.6%.
Though the percentages were smaller, property crimes were also on the decline through August. City figures showed overall property crimes dropped 3.8%, or 2,204 incidents, compared with the same period last year.
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