Here is a good article: https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/09/los-angeles-crime/
As of the week ending on August 19, 2023, reported homicides, rape and aggravated assaults have declined this year compared to 2021 reports over the same time period, while reported property crimes and robbery have increased, according to Los Angeles Police Department COMPSTAT numbers.
Violent crime in Los Angeles is down this year — and more than a little. Homicides are down 24%, from 269 in 2022 to 203 this year (through Aug. 26). Rapes are down 17%, robberies 12%. Those are significant drops, and they are not confined to Los Angeles. Violent crime is down in San Francisco and San Jose, too.
In response, the LAPD, true to its history, has sent mixed signals. Its budget request for this fiscal year, which began on July 1, touted the department’s success in combating violent crime but then asked for more money, while neglecting to mention the less sexy need to respond to property crime. The budget request singled out the need to replace helicopters, to retain officers and to create youth programs, but it did not once mention property crimes. The result was strange, boasting of success while hand-wringing for more support.
That’s hardly new. The LAPD’s data analysis has long been a source of exasperation among local officials. One particularly contentious debate arose in the 1990s when department officials struggled to explain a rapid fall in arrests, first claiming that it was evidence of success at moving toward “problem solving” and later reversing and claiming credit for a rise in arrests as proof that officers were working harder.
The lessons of that period can sometimes appear lost, but are worth remembering. Notably: Shifty analysis undermines sensible policy. And here we are again. Does the LAPD need more officers to combat violent crime at a time when violent crime is dropping? Perhaps not, but it may need those resources to respond to property crimes — and it may need support elsewhere.
At Rampart and throughout Los Angeles, officers complain about Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who has attempted to institute policies that are less punishing of criminals who are driven by addiction, has eliminated bail for minor offenses and has declined to prosecute many misdemeanors. At Rampart on Tuesday, one officer complained that it was hardly worth arresting criminals for burglary because they were back on the street within hours.
“It’s just a ticket,” the officer said.
COVERS allows u to tell someone they are sexually frustrated so long as ur hands are clean