Are crime really going down in L.A or is there fewer reported incidents? (Santa Clarita: foreclosure, crime rate)

[LAGuy]

Are crime really going down in L.A or is there fewer reported incidents? I really don't buy the idea of L.A genitification. I mean there are many factors beside crime acutally going down that can contribute to lower statistic of crime rate. Police not enforcing law as tough as before, fewer people are willing to report crime, maniupulated crime statistic rate...etc. For those who live in L.A. long enough, do you think crime are really going down? Do you see the changes?

[straight outta camden]

The short answer is, who the hell knows? I'm going to guess though.

I don't buy the idea of LA gentrification either. LA has plenty of cheap pockets that criminals can afford. This isn't Manhattan. I doubt the stats are fiddled: the FBI exerts a pretty heavy hand over that sort of thing these days and the LAPD is under a consent decree that makes it even harder. I doubt the proportion of crimes that get reported are down, either. Almost everyone can afford a cellphone, and (fun fact) the number of illegal immigrants in LA is falling. Illegal immigrants often don't report crimes because they don't want to draw attention to themselves.

So crime is probably down. Whether it stays that way over the next year, given the foreclosure mess and rising unemployment, is another matter entirely.

[brikag]

Philadelphia said the same thing 5-6 years ago. It turned out that the Philly police didn't report a lot of the incidents! Now they have the nickname Kill-adelphia!

[Delron]

Hmmm, well, let's see. There's that sheriff's deputy who was gunned down a couple of days ago up in Cypress Park, which has now definitely become the city hot spot for trouble along with its neighbors Glassell and Highland Parks.

And another high school football player was murdered in North Hollywood. All the claims of violent crime being down, dropping substantially, well I don't know. These politicians could be fudging with the numbers, I wouldn't put it past them.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

The short answer is, who the hell knows? I'm going to guess though.

I don't buy the idea of LA gentrification either. LA has plenty of cheap pockets that criminals can afford.

Fewer and fewer all the time. Where are you living if you don't buy the idea of LA gentrification? It's very real.

IMO crime genuinely is down in L.A., but due to high rents, gentrification, policing practices, etc. IMO crime is moving. It's getting more suburban and exurban. Gas prices have made suburban style living far less desirable. It's easy to see not only places that are already ghettoish like the AV but places which aren't that ghettoish right now, like Santa Clarita, becoming areas of concentrated poverty and crime.

[CESpeed]

For those who live in the protected Westside, I can see where they think crime is lower. Oh, wait. A woman was stabbed to death last week in Century City. So much for that theory. Since the developers are trying to gentrify LA, of course crime stats are down. How on God's Green Earth will they convince people to pay the ridiculous prices they want for housing here?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

For those who live in the protected Westside, I can see where they think crime is lower. Oh, wait. A woman was stabbed to death last week in Century City. So much for that theory.

Not a random killing, and the cops have already ruled out robbery as a motive for Pam Fayed's death. That appears to be a murder for hire stemming from the nasty divorce she was going through and from some rather funny "business" activities that she and her estranged husband were involved in. If I were LAPD I'd consider her husband to be a person of interest. Apparently he's already being sought after by the FBI due to his "business" activities.

Crimes motivated by domestic violence, organized crime hits (not street gang violence), etc. can and does happen ANYWHERE. And yes, that includes Arkansas. When people worry about crime in L.A., it's not that sort of crime that they're talking about.

[CESpeed]

A crime is a crime regardless of the media downplay. I suppose we should ignore the cars that get broken into in Santa Monica and Venice beaches on a regular basis. Or the break-ins of businesses. In affluent areas crime miraculously stays low and when the city wants to "gentrify" it dissappears.

Btw, who said I thought there was no crime in Ark? Especially DV? Where do you think country songs come from?

[dre71]

I know there are some pretty tough neighborhoods in LA but this has to be good news. The murder rate is the lowest its been since 1970 and the mayor says overall crime rate is at historic low I dont know if its true or not but its good to hear.

[CESpeed]

Tony the Pony. The man who spent half of his administration travelling the world promoting himself. Great Source.