CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Homicides, property crimes and violent crimes all declined across the areas of Los Angeles County patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department, with some communities seeing the numbers of killings drop by more than half compared to last year, Sheriff Lee Baca announced Friday.
Across sheriff’s jurisdictions, the number of slayings dropped to 250, 7% less than in 2007 and 23% lower than five years ago. Violent crimes and property crimes each dropped 6%. Rape was the only major category of serious crime to see an increase, with a 3% uptick.
“The news continues to be positive. . . . Crime is down countywide,” Baca said at the Sheriff’s Youth Activities League facility in Compton.
A similar drop occurred in the city of Los Angeles, which saw its lowest number of homicides since the late 1960s.
-- Richard Winton
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