Crime rates drop again in LA County

Crime in Los Angeles County dropped again in 2009 despite rising unemployment, maintaining a trend that has seen homicides drop to levels not seen since the 1960s, it was reported today.

Killings dropped about 17 percent in Los Angeles and by nearly a quarter in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Together, the agencies investigated about 500 killings through Sunday — a sharp drop in bloodshed compared with the more than 1,500 slayings in 1992, the year of the Los Angeles riots, according to the newspaper.

The number of property-related crimes also declined generally this year, including a surprisingly large drop in the number of stolen automobiles, The Times reported.

For the LAPD, the statistics marked the seventh consecutive year in which the rate of serious crimes has declined. Through Saturday, violent crimes — such as homicide, rape and robbery — fell about 10 percent compared with the same period last year, while burglary and other property crimes declined 8 percent, according to LAPD figures.

The Sheriff's Department, which patrols more than 40 cities plus unincorporated communities, reported similar results for the year, with overall serious crime down more than 11 percent through Monday.

The numbers represent nearly 20,000 fewer crimes handled by the LAPD and Sheriff's Department so far this year compared with last, The Times reported.

Homicides continued to fall in LAPD and Sheriff's Department jurisdictions, according to figures cited by The Times. In Los Angeles, 302 people had been killed by day's end Sunday, 62 fewer than in the same period in 2008, while the Sheriff's Department tallied 194 deaths, a 23 percent decline.