Despite weak economy, crime in L.A. County still declines (Chino: credit, houses)

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by Bideshi

I can't seem to get people to grasp the simple fundamental demographic reason for this decrease all over the United States: the Boomers are outgrowing violent crime. Also, only stupid criminals use guns anymore. Computer crime /ID theft is the new thing. The LE reps won't acknowledge this because they want to keep their funding at current levels.

We are getting older as a country. That has to be one of the major reasons for the decline. But when LA's violent crime peaked in the early 1990's, it was Generation X (people born after 1964), not boomers, who were in the peak violent crime age bracket (18 to 25).

[redturtle]

As you can see with the discussion here, it's not one thing, but a bunch of factors collectively, in no particular order:

1. Getting older as a population. Crime by 18-24 year olds is down significantly because there's less of them.

2. Roe v Wade (Freakonomics book talks about this): less children born out of wedlock in the late 70s onwards; kids for broken homes more likely to commit crimes, when less of them exist in the first place, less crime (mid-1970s decision means by mid-1990s, those kids would would've been born out of wedlock in the 1970s/80s didn't exist).

3. Less black-on-black crime: simply because they have been shrinking as a population: either in jail, dead, gotten older, or have become middle class (black flight out of LA). The black community in LA and elsewhere has come a long way, and in a quiet way as well. Basically less ghetto, more middle class.

4. Drug violence has shifted to Mexico: the US has become purely a retail outlet (stricter enforcement of drug laws has forced kingpins to stay south of the border). I mean, if you were a drug kingpin, would you live in the US and risk getting caught, or live in Mexico as a free man (and like a king) since you've paid off the police, politicians and judges? The drug business has gone global like any other: no need to be based in the US, and all you'll have are low level sellers in the US who are the equivalent of Best Buy employees taking orders. Flipside of this is that the "war" over territory and distribution is in Mexico between the cartels themselves. In a way, the US has shifted drug violence south of the border.

5. Better gang intervention by police. Police haven't been able to get rid of gangs but they have been better at policing them, getting better intel on them, and therefore doing a better job of preventing violence in the first place.

As a result, when it comes to violent crime, most of it now is:

1. Domestic violence. Every time you hear of someone murdered, chances are it's a family member, husband/wife, partner, etc. Crimes of passion.

2. Targeted hit. Usually gang or drug related.

3. Kidnapping. Mostly child custody situations (father kidnaps daughter from mother/ex-wife). Pedophiles make the news, but a lot of the ones not in the news tends to be a parent kidnapping their own kids.

4. Sexual assault: I don't have stats on this, but my guess is that this is down significantly due to DNA testing (deterrant), demographic changes, and maybe more porn?

There is still random violent crime, but more than ever, most of the crime is between people who know one another.

As for crimes against strangers, you are more likely to experience it online - getting your identity, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. stolen. This is where organized crime in the US has moved into (aside from drugs and prostitution).

[faunablues]

^ you're very right about kidnapping, but I don't think it's necessarily a modern trend. To add to that, it's not so much a matter of just fathers kidnapping their kids. Many of the cases are actually mothers kidnapping kids, often escaping a domestic violence situation.

[DelaneyRudd]

Originally Posted by Jeanius4U

That's because they're all in prison. That's why the overcrowding of prisoners, which they will be releasing soon.... Ut oh!

Freakanomics showed correlation with the abortion rate. (+15 - 20 years)

[Huckleberry3911948]

i guess the burning question is not how can we explain a 13% drop in violent crime in LA but did the stats get tweaked 13% by LAPD like they do here at SDPD. current mayor saunders also former police chief of SDPD, was raked over the coals on TV COX station while chief, regarding this issue, years ago.
do u as a citizen and LA resident feel that crime is lower, what does your family and community think?

[jacobwilliam77]

LA had a weak economy in the early 1990's and the crime was at an all time high back then.

[redturtle]

Originally Posted by Chino60607

That's cause you guys got soft. The police turn up the pressure and you guys ***** out. Your streets are breeding Moderator cut: language. During your worst days when Los Angeles was its worst averaging almost a thousand murders a year Chicago was too with a much smaller population. Los Angeles has hollywood that's what makes it look way worse than other city's in country which it's not. D.C. Had 800 mirders one year with a population around a 100 thousand people. That makes LA look soft but DC ain't got no movies or tv shows. It was rough in the 90s but so was most major city's.

I'd rather be called "soft" and living, than dumb and dead.

But then again, the whole gangsta persona that you seem to idolize Moderator cut: rude is just juvenile.

You see, boys talk about how "hard" and "tough" they are as they rob, cheat and harass others like bullies. Real men actually have real jobs and responsibilities (and who have the literacy level commiserate with their age).

Being afraid of murder isn't being "soft". It's just being adult.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by redturtle

I'd rather be called "soft" and living, than dumb and dead. ...the whole gangsta persona that you seem to idolize is just juvenile. You see, boys talk about how "hard" and "tough" they are as they rob, cheat and harass others like bullies. Real men actually have real jobs and responsibilities (and who have the literacy level commiserate with their age). Being afraid of murder isn't being "soft". It's just being adult.

Convoluted value system. We dinosaurs too, were silly and foolish to some extent, while wasting our youth. But the younger generation today, seems to have no concept of humane values anymore. They have been desensitized by sadistic social influence, to where they are impressed and even entertained by the mutilation of value boundaries established by what they might call ancient generations. Murder, violence rape, psychological and physical abuse are the social tools to achieve self-centered agains or desires.

[alexxiz]

I heard of some kidnappings happening near Greyhound bus station in Downdown, some fake "taxis" taking people... a street hooker told me that. I think there're real kidnappings happening in LA.
And what happened to that talk about homeless population mysteriously shrinking in LA during first years of the crisis (since 2008)--was it solved? There were some theories about people being taken.

[CaliSon]

Originally Posted by Chino60607

That's cause you guys got soft. The police turn up the pressure and you guys ***** out. Your streets are breeding Moderator cut: language. During your worst days when Los Angeles was its worst averaging almost a thousand murders a year Chicago was too with a much smaller population. Los Angeles has hollywood that's what makes it look way worse than other city's in country which it's not. D.C. Had 800 mirders one year with a population around a 100 thousand people. That makes LA look soft but DC ain't got no movies or tv shows. It was rough in the 90s but so was most major city's.

What are you talking about The police have been putting pressure for decades out here, some of the strongest anti gang laws have had their beginings here, in fact many of our policies have been imitated across the country, If Chicago had the same laws as here it would probably be one of the safest cities in the country a decade ago LA was the murder capital, thankfully more laws and tough police tactics have made our streets much safer The LA violence that we once had was no hollywood script as you can see

Peter Jennings Reporting: South Central, Los Angeles Part 1/4 - YouTube