The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Murders have dropped more than 20 percent this year in the nation’s second-largest city, the Police Department reports on its Web site.
The number of homicides this year as of June 7 was 226, compared with 287 during the same period last year, and 234 in 2001, the Police Department reported Wednesday. The decline from last year was 21.3 percent, while the murder decline this year from 2001 only was 3.4 percent.
Police attributed the decline to increased efforts to curb gang-related violence, which accounts for about half of all crimes committed citywide.
However, there were 10,809 burglaries in the same time period, compared with 10,749 last year; and 14,735 stolen cars, compared with 14,382 last year, a jump of 2.5 percent. When compared with 2001, when there were 12,693 car thefts, there was a whopping 16.1 percent increase.