LA Police Reportedly Battling Spike In Crime
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The city of Los Angeles reportedly is undergoing a spike in crime, most notably an increase in shooting victims, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Police told the newspaper there are 31 percent more shootings, and 54 additional victims, through March 21 compared to the same period last
year.
Violent crime reportedly is up 27 percent and property crime jumped 12 percent.
"So we are moving backward from 2014 and obviously we're taking steps to address that crime is up in every one of the bureaus," Beck told the Times.
Police believe gang-related assaults are behind the increase of shooting victims. The LAPD has moved officers from the elite Metropolitan Division into neighborhoods that have seen a spike in gang-related violence. The department is also expanding gang intervention programs, in which police work with young people to steer them away from criminal activity, according to the newspaper.
The department is also relying more on crime data to help predict where hot spots might develop and deploy extra resources there, according to Beck.
It seems there is one area where crime is down and that reportedly is homicides. Although shootings are up, murders were down two percent.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)