By Captain Jonathan Tom LAPD West Bureau.
The good news is that as compared to last Year to Date (YTD), West LA has achieved a 7.3% reduction in Violent Crime (Homicides, Rape, Robbery and Aggravated Assault) and a 0.4% reduction in Property Crime (Burglary, Grand Theft Auto, Burglary Theft From Vehicle, and Theft) Year to Date. This is on top of the 18% reduction in Violent Crime and 10.4% reduction in Property Crime from 2019/2018 YTD. The only crime categories with significant increases YTD were Homicides at +300% (4 vs 1) and Grand Theft Auto with a staggering +59.3% (537 vs 337). Both of these categories are experiencing increases across the City (Homicides are up 24.7% Citywide (278 vs 223) and Grand Theft Auto is up 34.9% Citywide (17,527 vs 12,989). To put these numbers in perspective, WLA Homicides accounted for only 1.4% (4 vs 278) of the City’s Homicides and 3.1% (537 vs 17,527) of the City’s Grand Theft Autos.
In our analysis of these crime categories, we believe that both crimes are up in large part due to Covid 19 related issues. Two of the four homicides occurred at short term rental party houses, which had seen an increase in activity during Covid due to bars and night clubs being closed. These homicides spurred our efforts to address this ongoing issue and we have seen some success in reducing that type of activity through enforcement of the Mayor’s Safer LA Order. In regard to Grand Theft Auto, we believe that it is due in large part to more people staying home, which means they check their vehicles less. For several months this year we saw a disturbing trend of approximately 50% of the stolen vehicles having their key fobs left in the vehicles. Utilizing our Senior Lead Officers, Social Media and community organizations we were able to get the word out to the community to remind that although we are a relatively safe community, we all have to do our part to minimize the chances of being a victim of crime.
Live your lives, but be cautious as you go about your daily activities. Be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. Hide your valuables and lock your vehicles, homes and businesses. Install motion lights and security cameras if possible and get to know your neighbors. If you do all of these things you will reduce the chances that you will be the victim of a crime. The simple act of being observant will also lessen the chances of you being targeted for a crime because criminals generally choose what they perceive as easy targets. The criminals that prey upon our community generally shy away from locations where people are paying attention to their surroundings, that are well lit, have clear lines of sight, that have alarms and cameras and have animals that might be protective of the property. Our criminals, like the vast majority of criminals, are looking for the most return for their efforts. They want to take things that are easily converted to cash while minimizing their chances of being caught. Doing the things I’m suggesting will harden the target, namely yourselves and your property.
We need your eyes and ears out there. We cannot be everywhere and rely on you being good community members by letting us know when suspicious activity or crimes are occurring. As the old saying goes, if you “See something. Say something!” Rest assured that West LA continues to be one of the safest communities in the City and we will always strive to keep you safe, lower our crime numbers and address your quality of life issues to the best of our ability.
