Killings Decrease This Year in Valley, Rise in Rest of L.A.

The number of killings in the San Fernando Valley in the first six months of 1986 dropped 10.4% from the same period last year, whereas they increased 6.9% in the rest of the city, according to crime statistics released Monday by the Los Angeles Police Department.

There were 43 killings reported by the five LAPD divisions serving the Valley during the first six months of the year, down from 48 in the same period last year, said Lt. Dan Cooke, police spokesman.

In the rest of the city, killings increased from 319 in the first half of 1985 to 341 in the first six months of this year.

The only Valley divisions reporting increases were North Hollywood, which also serves the Sun Valley, and the Van Nuys Division, which serves Van Nuys, Sepulveda and Panorama City.

Killings in North Hollywood increased from nine in 1985 to 13 in 1986 during the first six months; in the same period, the number in Van Nuys rose from seven last year to nine this year.

Lt. Ron LaRue, North Hollywood detective, said there were “no connections, nothing you can use as a factor” to help explain the rise in killings in his division.

“If you look back over the years, you’ll find North Hollywood averages about 20 a year, and that’s about where we’ll be at the end of this year,” he said.

Devonshire Division, which serves Chatsworth, Granada Hills and Northridge, reported only one killing this year, contrasted with five in the first half of 1985. Killings reported in West Valley Division, which includes Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and Encino, dropped from 11 in the first six months last year to seven so far this year. Foothill Division, which serves Pacoima, Sylmar, Tujunga and Lake View Terrace, reported 13 killings this year, down from 16 in the first six months of 1985.

Police officials said a 73% increase in aggravated assaults in the Valley, as in the rest of the city, was because of a new law that went into effect in January requiring that officers make felony arrests in domestic violence cases even when injuries are minor.

There were 3,379 aggravated assault cases in the Valley the first six months of this year, up from 1,950 in the same period last year.