LOS ANGELES : Study Finds Higher Crime Rates in Housing Projects
Public housing projects in Los Angeles generally had much higher rates of reported crimes and drug arrests than the rest of the city between 1986 and 1989, but a few showed lower rates than surrounding communities, according to a new study by the Rand think tank in Santa Monica.
Nine housing projects studied in Los Angeles altogether averaged 58 drug arrests per 1,000 residents annually, compared to 22 in nearby areas and 16 citywide. Those developments were the scene of 67 violent offenses for every 1,000 residents, compared to 29 in adjacent neighborhoods and 22 citywide, said the study, funded by the National Institute of Justice.
A wide disparity in reported crime between projects in South-Central and the Eastside may be partly attributed to immigrants’ reluctance to contact police for fear of immigration probes, suggested study author Terence Dunworth.
The most crime-ridden project in the study, the 183-apartment Hacienda Village in South-Central Los Angeles, had a rate of reported serious offenses 15 times that of Rose Hill Courts, a 100-unit Eastside project.
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