Murder plunged by 30 percent in Los Angeles in the first nine months of the year, continuing a trend that has pushed crime rates to a 30-year low, police said.
"That is a significant reduction overall," Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said recently.Parks attributed the decline in part to LAPD's FASTRAC computerized crime analysis system, which has helps the LAPD focus on problem areas and deploy officers to combat the crimes. The expansion of the police force by 2,000 officers has also helped, he said.
He said he is continuing efforts to reduce crime, including plans to expand the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to junior high schools and high schools.
Police recorded 146 fewer murders in the city and 28 fewer in L.A.'s suburban San Fernando Valley so far this year compared with 1997. Overall, 341 murders occurred in the city, compared with 487 in the same period last year. In the valley, there have been 44 murders, compared with 72 in 1997.
All violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults, are down significantly from this time last year.
Police logged about 7,000 fewer violent crimes so far this year than last in the city and 1,340 fewer in the valley, statistics show. So far this year, there have been 21,000 violent crimes in the city and 6,008 in the valley.
The numbers continue a decadelong trend that has put crime rates at a 30-year low, police have said.
In its first comprehensive study to help explain this decade's steady decrease in violent crime, the Los Angeles Police Department concluded in June that the improving economy, the tough "three strikes, you're out" sentencing law and the expansion of the police force appeared to be factors.