LAPD Reports Homicides and Violent Crime Down in 2023 As Mayor Bass Highlights Comprehensive Strategy to Keep Angelenos Safe Launched During First Year

December 7, 2023 5:06 pm

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is investing in a comprehensive strategy to keep Angelenos safe.

Mayor Bass started her day by speaking with a class of LAPD recruits that are graduating on December 15. Then she hosted a press conference to highlight her comprehensive strategy to keep Angelenos safe. Mayor Bass is confronting and preventing crime. Violent crime is down, and Los Angeles has seen a 15 percent decrease in homicides compared to last year. In August, LAPD reported 1,048 people had applied to the Department, the largest number of applications in a single month since September 2020. Later in the day, Mayor Bass will meet with community intervention workers in East Los Angeles.

“My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe,” said Mayor Bass. “During my first year, we have taken urgent action to address the LAPD hiring and retention crisis as well as invested in proven community-led approaches to address crime. There is still much more work to do and many Angelenos who do not feel safe. Together, we will continue implementing our comprehensive approach to public safety.”

At the beginning of her term, Mayor Bass established an Office of Community Safety to prevent crime through community-led approaches to increase safety and wellbeing. Mayor Bass is investing in those approaches and in the people who lead the efforts.

She increased the budget for the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program with an additional $13 million as well as the annual salary of community intervention workers to help ensure staff received a livable wage for critical intervention services. These investments increased the number of community intervention workers who can serve high-need areas.

Mayor Bass also led unprecedented responses to emergencies this year during Tropical Storm Hillary and the 10-Freeway closure. In August, the Mayor’s preparedness efforts in advance of Storm Hillary proved to be life-saving with no deaths or injuries related to the storm. In November, Mayor Bass took urgent action to help the freeway reopen ahead of schedule, days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Los Angeles is taking a new comprehensive approach to safety and is delivering results:

Supporting the Los Angeles Police Department: Mayor Bass continues to support the Los Angeles Police Department and provide them with needed resources to keep Los Angeles safe. In August, the LAPD said 1,048 people applied to the department, the largest number of applications in a single month since September 2020.
Supporting the Los Angeles Fire Department: Mayor Bass is increasing Emergency Medical Response to respond to a majority of 911 calls that are medical. In order to expand that capacity, the LAFD Emergency Appointed Paramedic (EAP) Program was put into place to address the paramedic shortage the Department has been experiencing. The Mayor is also committed to securing funding for automated chest compression devices/CPR devices for every paramedic rescue ambulance in the City.
Preventing Crime: The Los Angeles Police Department formed a regional Retail Theft Task Force in August. The Mayor helped secure $15.7 million from the state to support the Los Angeles Police Department’s efforts to combat organized retail crime, which has now dropped 57% since the establishment of the task force and resulted in 196 arrests further disarming large, organized groups. The Task Force will continue its work to address this issue.
Reducing Crime with the Office of Community Safety: The Mayor established the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety to prevent crime through community-led approaches to increase safety and wellbeing. The Office has distributed $50 million dollars to community-based organizations to provide violence prevention and intervention, as well as diversion and anti-recidivism services to help Angelenos successfully reenter and remain in their communities after being incarcerated.
Investing In Community Violence Intervention: The Mayor increased the budget for the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program by $13 million. She also raised the annual salary of community intervention workers to help ensure staff received a livable wage for critical intervention services. These investments increased the City’s capacity to send community intervention workers to high-need areas. This administration also set the national standard for entry level Community Intervention workers to $60,000, and increased the City’s investments in the Summer Night Lights Program.
Safe Community Spaces: This summer, the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety coordinated the Summer Night Lights program through partnerships with City departments, Council District Offices and community-based organizations to employ 530 youth and young adults to provide recreation activities, art and cultural programming, and free meals to 397,400 Angelenos in parks and public housing developments across the city of Los Angeles.
Combating Drug Overdoses: The Los Angeles Public Library trained staff members to administer NARCAN. The Department of Recreation and Parks is in the process of training staff as well.
Providing an Alternative Response: The Mayor sustained and expanded CIRCLE (Crisis and Incident Response through Community Lead Engagement) in communities across the city. CIRCLE provides an alternative unarmed response to non-emergency LAPD calls involving unhoused individuals through the deployment of trained mental health clinicians and civilian practitioners with lived experience. In the last 14 months, CIRCLE has effectively responded to 9,978 calls for service, helping the city prevent community harm and save LAPD resources for more serious incidents.
Responding To Angelenos In Crisis: The Mayor’s Crisis Response Team (CRT) members undergo extensive training in crisis care, intervention, and working with other city departments. Response Team Members volunteer to be “On Call” 24 hours per day to respond to events in the City at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, and area hospitals. Emergency responses include homicides, suicides, death notification assistance, domestic violence support, officer-involved shootings, infant deaths, and serious traffic accidents. When deployed, CRT Members liaise between surviving victims and emergency personnel such as LAPD, LAFD, the medical examiner, and hospital emergency room staff. The CRT provides immediate comfort, emotional support, and resources to survivors of traumatic events to help those most affected begin their path to recovery.
- This year, CRT deployed 402 Volunteer CRT members to support Angelenos in crisis after 263 critical incidents throughout Los Angeles – including in response to the mass shooting in Monterey Park at the Family Assistance Center. CRT responded by providing immediate on-scene crisis intervention to surviving victims at approximately 45 Traffic Fatalities, 37 Homicides, 37 Suicides, 40 Death Investigations, 11 Infant Deaths, 10 Officer Involved Shootings, 5 Fire Incidents, 9 Natural Deaths, 4 Murder Suicides, 3 Child Deaths, 13 Non Fatal Traumatic Incidents and 49 follow up requests to support families 1-2 days after a traumatic incident occurred.
Responding to Unprecedented Weather and Infrastructure Challenges:
- The Mayor provided steady leadership during emergencies this year. When Los Angeles braced for a hurricane in August, Mayor Bass led a series of emergency declarations enabling the City to coordinate responses and secure federal and state resources for significant impacts to the City’s power system, infrastructure and more. The Mayor’s preparedness efforts proved to be life-saving with zero deaths or injuries related to the storm.
- In November, Mayor Bass made urgent, continuous efforts to expedite the repair and alleviate the traffic impacts of the 10 freeway closure on communities and commuters. Mayor Bass activated the Emergency Operations Center and took action to continue to respond with urgency to the impacts of the traffic closure during the ongoing construction.