LAPD Chief Warns Residents of Summer Crime

Crime in Los Angeles has decreased all around compared to 2010, but with summer approaching, we’re all in for what LAPD Chief Charlie Beck calls “our high crime season”—a time when the public needs to work closely with the police to keep the city safe.

Speaking at the Police Administration Building Plaza downtown during his so-called “monthly media availability” session on Thursday, Beck said that homicide in the city had decreased nearly 8.5 percent compared with 2010, which, he added, was the “best year in over four decades” for crime numbers.

Similarly, compared to last year, every form of violent crime and all levels of property crime are down by nearly 10 percent, Beck said. Gang crime is down almost 20 percent, and gang-related homicide is less pronounced than other “regular” homicides, the LAPD chief added.

“But it’s important to recognize that these gains are fragile,” Beck said toward the end of his presentation. “We are coming up on our high crime season”—the summer—“and it’s not going to be just about police officers, it’s going to be about the public, and they’re working with the police in keeping themselves safe.”

For Echo Park, the Los Angeles Times crime map showed that the frequency or reported crimes actually increased, especially in violent and property crimes. According to the Times, Echo Park has averaged 2.5 violent crimes and nearly 12 property crimes per week.

Beck invited the public to learn more about the LAPD’s Summer Safety program, which, among other things, aims to make public parks in Los Angeles safe and more accessible during summer months. The LAPD will organize special exhibits regarding the program at the second annual basketball match between the LAPD and the LAFD at the Galen Center, a multipurpose athletic facility downtown owned by the University of Southern California.

Called the “Safe Summer Tip-off Youth Basketball Tournament,” the event, scheduled for June 25, is free and open to the public. Free food will be provided and youngsters are especially encouraged to come for the game, Beck said.

“It is my goal to continue the crime numbers to keep this city safe, but I can only do it with your help,” Beck said.

Beck also praised a new online feature that monitors crime citywide and which the LAPD introduced for public use on May 13. Called CrimeMapping.com, the resource can be accessed through the LAPD website. CrimeMapping.com got more than 13,000 hits on the day it was launched—“a good indication that the public is interested in crime in their neighborhoods and that we’re able to produce it [data for the website],” Beck said.