Burglaries up slightly in Los Angeles in first half of 2024
Burglaries in the city of Los Angeles are up in the first half of 2024, with police responding both to organized crews and to thieves employing high-tech tools.
On Tuesday morning, Los Angeles Police Department Interim Chief Dominic Choi told the Police Commission that from Jan. 1–July 6, burglaries are up 4% over the same period in 2023, with 299 additional reports.
Choi said that the majority of incidents are happening from 6 p.m.-midnight, and added, “Some of these are when residents are actually home, what we consider a ‘hot prowl,’ which becomes much more serious.”
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He did not specify a total figure, but according to publicly available LAPD data, last year from Jan. 1–July 6 there were 7,557 burglary reports. That would put the 2024 count at 7,856 burglaries. Choi added that the level is 2.2% higher than at this point in 2022.
The last time there were more burglaries from Jan. 1–July 6 was in 2018, when the figure exceeded 8,000.
The number of burglaries, like many crimes, can shift dramatically depending on overall crime trends and other societal changes. In the full year of 2011, the LAPD recorded more than 17,000 burglary reports. The number has since bounced up and down, dropping to just over 13,000 in 2021, and reaching 15,302 last year.
Two types of break-ins
The LAPD breaks down burglaries into residential and commercial crimes. Both are up about 4% this year. Choi said 56% of the reports in 2024 were of homes.
Of those, he said, the biggest gain has occurred in the department’s West Bureau (the LAPD has four large geographic bureaus, which each include a number of community stations). He added that the jump, “is led by Wilshire Division, which has seen an increase of 86 additional residential burglaries.”
The Wilshire station patrols communities including Arlington Heights, Fairfax, Melrose and Miracle Mile.
Choi added that the department’s Hollywood station has seen an increase of 71 burglaries so far this year.
Burglaries are up by an even greater degree in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. According to LASD data, the 4,360 burglary reports through May 31 (the latest date available) is up 6.4% over the same period in 2023.
Thieves from afar
The LAPD earlier this year formed a task force focusing on “tourist burglars.” The term refers to individuals, frequently from Chile and other South American countries, who enter the United States on a tourist visa, commit a series of crimes in a short period, and then return home.
Numerous high-end homes have been hit—celebrities and athletes including Keanu Reeves and basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce have been targeted—and the crews often work in concentrated areas.
“We know where these are occurring in clusters,” Choi told the Police Commission. “We have added extra patrols in those neighborhoods.”
He said that senior lead officers are meeting with community groups and offering tips on how to prevent or deter burglaries. This can involve simple steps such as putting a lock on an electrical panel so thieves cannot cut power to a home.
There are also thieves using Wi-Fi jammers to disrupt home security networks. Choi previously said one solution is to hardwire a system, plugging it directly into the ethernet outlet in the wall, rather than relying on Wi-Fi. But on Tuesday, he said the department is looking at legislative options, and is speaking with lawmakers about outlawing Wi-Fi jammers.
“There’s no reason to have one for the public unless you’re trying to disrupt somebody’s system,” he said.
Other thieves are more direct. The department on Tuesday announced the arrest of three members of the “Reflector Vest Crew,” named for their tactic of dressing like construction workers. According to a press release, one member would knock on a door, and if no one answered, others would break in through a back entrance. The LAPD said at least 30 homes in “wealthy enclaves” were burglarized, with thieves stealing watches, high-end purses and more.
How we did it: We examined publicly available crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department from Jan. 1, 2011–July 6, 2024, and also utilized data provided at the July 9 Police Commission meeting. Learn more about our data here.
LAPD data only reflects crimes that are reported to the department, not how many crimes actually occurred. In making our calculations, we rely on the data the LAPD makes publicly available. LAPD may update past crime reports with new information, or recategorize past reports. Those revised reports do not always automatically become part of the public database.
Have questions about our data or want to know more? Write to us at askus@xtown.la.
