Los Angeles homicides fell from 402 in 2021 to 382 last year, a 5% drop, Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday.
“We recognize that homicides devastate communities. It terrifies people and causes immeasurable damage to families, friends and the local community,” Moore said.
“Our most experienced detectives often find themselves working homicides as part of a lifelong effort to bring justice to those families suffering from these extraordinary crimes.”
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council delayed a vote for 60 days on whether to accept a $278,000 donation of a four-legged robot dog for use in SWAT operations.
Moore also said the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has a new website illustrating the impacts of homicides, which will include whether investigators have made progress on homicide cases.
According to Moore, the website will include an image, name and date of every homicide that has occurred in the past year and, in the future, will also include photographs in accordance with the wishes of families of homicide victims.
“We hope that when people see these victims they will recognize a life that was lost and the devastation of an entire family,” Moore said.
“It will help our communities provide their most crucial resource: their voice, and it will help us understand those responsible for this gun violence.”
Moore attributed the drop in homicides to the efforts of LAPD officers and investigators, Mayor Karen Bass and former Mayor Eric Garcetti to add overtime to bolster deployment and add more uniform patrols, and to the community to provide information and work with the police. .
“We continue to see a reduction in homicides and shootings so far this year,” Moore said. “We have had 55 homicides since last Saturday, a decrease of 32% from the same period last year to date. We also saw a 15% reduction in the number of shootings and a 12% reduction in violent crime from 2022.”
A Bellflower man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating an LAPD detective to steal money from Spanish-speaking maintenance workers looking for jobs.
Department data said the LAPD’s Southern Operations office, which includes 77th Street, Port, Southeast and Southwest stations, had the largest drop in homicides, about 140 cases. in 2022 compared to 167 in 2021, i.e. a decrease of approximately 16%. .
The Valley Operations Bureau, which includes police stations in Van Nuys, West Valley, North Hollywood, Foothill, Devonshire, Mission and Topanga, reported a 14% increase in homicides: 67 homicides in 2022, compared to 59 homicides in 2021.
“Our primary premise for these crimes happened or was outdoors in public spaces; 58% of homicides took place outdoors,” Moore said. “The primary weapon remains a firearm which accounts for 75% of our homicides.”
LAPD spokespersons are proposing that armed police officers stop responding to certain types of 911 calls that aren’t considered violent or dangerous, they’ve even released a list of situations in which they say other departments should surrender.
Moore said the department seized 8,427 firearms in 2022, down 234 from the 8,661 firearms seized in 2021. Additionally, firearm seizures outside of city limits have increased by 76, or 25%, compared to 307 in 2021.
The LAPD’s Gang and Narcotics Division identified 1,706, or 20%, of the total firearms seized as “phantom weapons,” an 11% decrease from 2021, according to the report.
“I am pleased to report that in our efforts to solve these crimes and bring justice to these families, we have seen a 10% drop in our solve rate, from 68% in 2021 to 75% in 2022,” said Moore.
The LAPD reported a total of 16 police shootings in the second half of 2022.
“This is a 34% increase from 2020, where we only solved 56%, one of our all-time lows in the year when we saw a substantial increase in homicides in 2020. .”
Moore said the department had 100% and 84% solve rates in homicide cases involving black and Hispanic women in 2022, respectively.
Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher said the high success rate is the result of collaboration between various officers and programs.
Black Lives Matters members are demanding change within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), particularly in the minor traffic accident division.
Pitcher also said that any homicide that is not immediately solved is escalated to a committee, which includes commanders from the Robbery and Homicide Division, expert investigators and forensic personnel, to ensure that ” Nothing is left to chance”.
“We also focused on the cold case aspect, going back and finally looking at those cold cases,” Pitcher said.
Domestic and family homicide reports in 2022 decreased from 2021, but remained higher than the 27 homicide cases reported in 2020.
According to the report, there were three more homeless-related homicides than the 107 reported in 2021.