L.A. Crime Rate Shows Dramatic Decrease in 1994 : Law: Homicides, auto thefts and robberies all drop markedly. Community policing and additional officers on the street are credited for the improvement.

Violent crime dropped markedly in Los Angeles last year, and police officials on Friday credited community-based policing, an increased budget and more officers on the streets for the improvement.

It was the second consecutive year that crime fell, and year-end statistics released by the Police Department show a decrease in crime in every bureau and for all major categories of violent and property crime.

Homicides dropped the most, 20.9%, to 836 from 1,057 a year earlier. Other large reductions in reported crime were robberies, which dropped 19.7% to 30,643, and auto thefts, down 15% to 55,201.

“The community policing approach is proving effective,” said Lt. John Dunkin, a department spokesman. “It’s starting to come together. We want to continue building the base of support.”

Dunkin said that by focusing on narcotics and gang activities, law enforcement has been able to keep a lid on all the many forms of crime that they spawn, especially homicides and robberies.

“These are impressive figures,” Dunkin said. “But many people still don’t feel real safe out there. And for the rank-and-file officers, there are still an awful lot of radio calls to be answered.”

In other categories of violent crime, rapes were down 11.9% to 1,555, and aggravated assaults, including cases of domestic violence, dropped 6.2% to 40,039.

Among property crimes, burglaries were down 13.2% to 43,537, thefts from autos dropped 5.2% to 54,084 and other thefts fell 12.6% to 46,435.

Officials said they noticed an unexpected, but marked, drop in reported crime early in the year when more officers were on the streets after the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

Police records show that for the second half of January, “repressible crimes”--those that experts say can be deterred by the presence of uniformed officers--dropped 21.5% citywide. The biggest drop was recorded in the San Fernando Valley, which had the most earthquake damage and the largest increase in the number of officers on the streets.

The 1994 Los Angeles results represent a turnabout from the 1980s, when crime was steadily on the rise. The attention focused on those increases led to police budget and staff increases in the 1990s, which are now beginning to make a difference, Dunkin said.

But, Dunkin said, some law enforcement officials are concerned that improvements in crime statistics may make police budgets less of a priority.

“We hope they will not breed complacency,” Dunkin said, “(because) 836 people still died last year.”