[dropcap]S[/dropcap]erious crime has continued to fall in West Hollywood, with the city’s Sheriff’s Station reporting the lowest serious crime rate among 24 stations in Los Angeles County.
A report by the city’s Public Safety Department says “Part I” crimes, which include personal crimes such as homicide, robbery, rape and aggravated assaults and property crimes such as burglary, theft, auto theft and arson, were down 17.5 percent last year over the year before. The biggest decrease was in robberies, which were down 43 percent.
The report attributes the reduction in petty thefts (down 18 percent) and vehicle crimes (down 24 percent) to crime suppression efforts, including patrols throughout the city by Sheriff’s deputies and the work of so-called “security ambassadors” along Santa Monica Boulevard, the west end of which is a major nightlife destination. While they are not police officers, the security ambassadors, by their presence, inhibit street crime and quickly report it to Sheriff’s deputies. Since the security ambassador program began last July, crime along Santa Monica Boulevard has fallen 24 percent.
Petty thefts account for the largest number of serious crimes in West Hollywood, with 239 documented from July to December last year. In California, petty theft is defined as stealing property (not including guns or cars) valued at no more than $950 and not involving a mugging. The next largest category of crime was vehicle burglary, with 99 incidents documented in the last half of 2013.
There were no murders during that period. There 52 instances of aggravated assault and 18 rapes reported. Aggravated assault is defined in California as an action intended to inflict injury on a person, whether or not injury occurs.
The city’s west side, defined as the area west of La Cienega Boulevard, was the scene of the largest number of serious crimes, with a total of 362 in the last half of 2013. By comparison, there were 185 serious crimes documented on the city’s more residential east side, defined as the area east of Fairfax, and 212 in the city’s center, a now-bustling district between La Cienega and Fairfax that includes restaurants along Santa Monica Boulevard such as Laurel Hardware and Connie and Ted’s and nightclubs and bars such as Fubar, the Hudson and the recently opened dba. The east side saw the largest decrease in incidents of crime (down 36 percent), with decreases of 13 percent on the west side and seven percent in the city’s center.
One category that didn’t show much change was residential burglary, with 69 incidents documented in the last half of 2013 compared to 67 the year before. However, residential burglaries are down significantly since 2009, when there were 89.
Eight of the nine incidents of sexual assault documented in the last half of 2013 were alcohol-related and involved a nightclub or bar.
The pages that follow contain charts documenting the instance of serious crime in West Hollywood by area and type of crime, with comparisons to crime in earlier years.
Page 2: Serious crime by area of city.
Page 3: Aggravated assault incidents since 2009.
Page 4: Aggravated assault by area of city.
Page 5: Robberies by area of the city.
Page 6: Residential burglaries since 2009.
Page 7: Residential burglaries by area of the city.
Page 8: Car burglaries since 2009.
Page 9: Car burglaries by area of the city.
Page 10: Petty theft since 2009.
Page 11: Petty theft by area of the city.
