LAPD's 2023 crime statistics report shows drop in homicides, jump in fatal traffic incidents

Los Angeles Police Department has released its end-of-year crime report for 2023, and for the first time in nine years, the city saw traffic-related deaths jump homicides.

Chief Michel Moore was joined by Mayor Karen Bass at a press conference to discuss the report on Wednesday, lauding the department for the notable decrease in homicides over the past year. 

However, they did take time to discuss the disturbing increase in deadly traffic fatalities.

"As we confront 2024 head on, we saw in 2023 a significant increase in traffic fatalities, fatal hit-and-runs, as well as fatal pedestrian and bicycle collisions," Moore said. 

He said that the department is already taking action, adding uniform and traffic officers around the city in hopes of increasing enforcement of speed violations in communities that saw the most impact, as well as a concerted effort to go after impaired drivers and hit-and-run violators. 

The report shows that the majority of those fatal crashes were the result of impaired driving, with felony hit-and-run crashes seeing a 23% jump from 2022, while DUI-related incidents spiked by 32%. 

Additionally, pedestrian fatalities jumped by nearly 13% compared to 2022. 

Despite this, Bass and Moore highlighted the positive strides that the department has taken in reducing overall crime. 

"Los Angeles in 2023 achieved a 3% reduction in violent crime, reduction in every category, with just over 1,000 fewer victims of violent crime," Moore said. "Most significant was the success of seeing 65 fewer homicides, which is a 17% reduction."

Overall, Los Angeles saw a total of 327 reported homicides last year. 

The South Bureau of LAPD's jurisdiction, which covers operations in Harbor, 77th Street, Southwest and Southeast stations, saw the biggest drop in homicides, with a 23% decrease in numbers compared to 2022. 

"it's the second year in a row, we had not only fewer homicides, but also had 127 fewer shooting victims," Moore said, noting it was the lowest number over the last four years. 

The department's homicide clearance rate for the year was 76%, with the West Bureau, which covers the Hollywood, Olympic, Pacific, West Los Angeles and Wilshire stations, leading at a 95% clearance rate. 

They were followed by the South Bureau with an 81% clearance rate, the Valley Bureau at 80% and the Central Bureau at 64%. 

"Our analysis of our homicides, when we look to see where these reductions occurred, we see a 26% reduction in gang-related homicides," Moore said. 

The report also showed a 3.2% decrease in violent crimes compared to data from 2022, but a nearly 2% jump in "Part 1 Crimes," which are an umbrella term for major crimes like homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary. 

Overall property crimes rose by 3.5%, including a nearly 16% citywide jump in thefts that included almost 140 "flash robberies." However, the implementation of the Organized Retail Theft Task Force has resulted in a 33% reduction in flash robberies compared to the same time period prior to the task force's creation. 

Retail crime task force officers have served almost 110 search warrants, resulting in 128 arrests, 15 seized firearms and the recovery in more than $150,000 in stolen property.

Other property crimes included a 2% spike in vehicle thefts, 30% of which were either Kia or Hyundai models. 

The report can be found at www.lapdonline.org.