Los Angeles sees fewer than 300 murders for first time in five years

After shocking spike in deaths, homicide count is back to pre-COVID level
Crime
By

Multi-colored illustration of a gun

 

The number of murders committed in the city of Los Angeles fell sharply last year. Although the final full-year total has not been revealed, through Dec. 28 the Los Angeles Police Department had registered 268 homicides, according to Compstat figures. That is down 18% from the same point in 2023. 

 

This will mark the first time this decade that the annual count drops below 300. In 2023 there were 327 homicides in the city.

 

For much of the 2010s the yearly total was between 250 and 300 homicides. Los Angeles, like other major cities across the country, saw deadly gun violence surge during the pandemic. The peak was the 402 killings in 2022.

 

Bar chart of annual homicides in the city of Los Angeles from 2015–2024

 

Still, the situation was much worse during the drug wars of the late 1980s and early ’90s. In 1993, there were nearly 1,100 murders in the city.

 

Homicides are also down in Los Angeles County. According to a dashboard operated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, there were 167 murders in areas patrolled by the LASD in the period from Jan. 1–Nov. 30. That’s a decline of 9.2% from the same time frame in 2023.

 

As with the city, the recent high point of homicides in LASD territories (unincorporated parts of the county, and cities that contract with the department to provide law enforcement services) occurred in 2021, when there were 281 killings. 

 

Horizontal bar chart of homicides in areas patrolled by the LA Sheriff's Department from 2015–2024

 

Less gang violence

Early last month, Mayor Karen Bass highlighted the decline in homicides, appearing in Watts with new LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, noting that it was propelled by a more than 50% decrease in gang killings.

 

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A change the LAPD made last spring in how it records and presents crime data makes it impossible for the public to determine things such as where all murders occurred, the breakdown of victims by gender or ethnicity, and what weapons were employed. 

 

However, in recent years approximately three-quarters of killings involved firearms.

 

At a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting on Dec. 17, McDonnell said the number of victims shot was down nearly 19% from the same point the previous year. In the full year of 2023, there were 1,206 people struck by gunfire in the city.

 

If the pace holds, then 2024 will close with just under 1,000 victims shot.

 

The number of guns seized by the LAPD has also fallen. Through Nov. 30, the department had booked 6,847 firearms, according to figures presented to the Police Commission. That is an 8.8% decline from the same point the previous year.

 

In 2023, there were 8,154 firearms booked. The recent peak was the 8,661 seized in 2021.

 

Line chart of annual number of firearms booked by the LAPD in the period from 2015–2024.

 

Safer in South L.A.

Historically, Los Angeles neighborhoods with large numbers of low-income residents suffer the most murders. In 2023, Downtown, which includes Skid Row, experienced 35 homicides, or 10.4% of the year’s total. Boyle Heights and Westlake recorded 23 and 21 killings, respectively. 

 

Specific neighborhood totals for 2024 cannot be discerned due to the change in LAPD reporting. However, a group of smaller Los Angeles neighborhoods did, once again, record a disproportionate number of murders.

 

Of the four LAPD geographic bureaus, South Bureau saw the most killings. There were 107 murders through Dec. 28, according to Compstat data.

 

That actually reflects a recent turnaround. On Aug. 31, South Bureau had recorded a 13.2% year-to-date increase in homicides. But the current figure is now two fewer deaths than in 2023.

 

The other three bureaus are experiencing even more significant drops.

 

Table showing count of homicides in four LAPD geographic bureaus over three years.

 

Official 2024 LAPD homicide and gun violence totals will likely be revealed at the end of the month. 

 

How we did it: We examined publicly available crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department from Jan. 1, 2011–Dec. 28, 2024. 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.

 

We also examined LAPD Compstat data, statistics presented to the L.A. Police Commission, the department’s 2023 Crime & Initiatives report, and a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department crime dashboard. Have questions about our data or want to know more? Write to us at askus@xtown.la.