Los Angeles Violent Crime Surge: Crime School Podcast

Los Angeles violent crime surged by 67% downtown for the first six months of 2015 according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

* Is the increase in violent crime caused by gang activity?
* Was it caused by the jail inmate early-release program?
* Is it related to the growing Skid Row Homeless Population?
* Did Proposition 47 felony crime reclassification cause the spike?




Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief Charlie Beck press conference

 

Podcast Time Stamps:

* [00:45] - Press conference with Chief Beck and Mayor Garcetti.
* [01:48] - Interview with KABC talk-radio show host Peter Tilden.
* [02:30] - Why is Los Angeles violent crime increasing downtown.
* [03:55] -  Los Angeles violent crime up 67% in downtown.
* [04:50] - More cops not the answer to lowering crime statistics.
* [08:52] - My comments about the interview subject matter.
* [09:02] - What's causing the spike in Los Angeles violent crime.
* [10:50] - Three-strikes law in California.
* [12:35] - Perfect Crime Storm.
* [13:00] - Early-release of jail and prison inmates.
* [14:45] - Skid Row in Los Angeles.
* [15:20] - Proposition 47 and its contribution to the crime rate increase.
* [16:25] - LAPD modifies arrest and jail booking policy.
* [18:00] - Los Angeles Violent Crime analysis - Mystery in the numbers.
* [18:30] - FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
* [20:50] - LA Times investigated LAPD crime under-reporting.
* [23:15] - Predictions about crime trends in Los Angeles violent crime.




 
What caused the rise in Los Angeles violent crime downtown?
Was it caused by:

* A downtown gang-turf battle.
* A surge in drug activity.
* A major new entertainment or sports venue opening.
* Rising homelessness and violence on Skid Row.
* Discharge of jail inmates due to overcrowding.
* Proposition 47 downgrading felonies to misdemeanors.
* Change in offender arrest and jail booking policy.
* Changes in LAPD policy on crime classifications.
* Increased part-1 UCR crime reporting to FBI.
* Violent crime under-reported in 2104.
* Violent crime data correction in 2015.
* A combination of several of these factors.

California was Tough on Crime
The three-strikes law in California was legislation that mandated the courts to impose harsher jail and prison sentences on habitual offenders. The sentencing threshold was having at least two-prior serious criminal convictions and have now committed a third. In California, even a misdemeanor drug crime conviction could be that third-strike triggering harsher jail or prison sentence.

The idea was to be tough on crime by keeping those more likely to commit a serious crime off the streets and separate habitual-offenders from society using the baseball analogy of three-strikes and you’re out.

The Three-Strikes Law was credited by many for the decade of crime rate reduction in California.Tweet This
The Perfect Crime Storm
However, this crime reduction benefit came at a high-price. The Los Angeles County jail quickly became overcrowded with those awaiting trial and sentenci...