The Los Angeles Times recently reported that arrests are “plummeting across California,” including a 25% drop in Los Angeles over two years. The trend in West Hollywood arrests is more complicated. That is according to a new analysis by WeHo by the Numbers based on state and city data.
The newspaper article noted that arrests by the Los Angeles Police Department dropped 25% between 2013 and 2015. There were also significant declines in arrests by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the San Diego Police Department. Statewide, the number of arrests hit a 50-year low in 2015. The decline in arrests has not been accompanied by a drop in crime, so it raises questions and concerns.
The WeHo by the Numbers analysis shows that the number of arrests in West Hollywood has gone down, up, down and perhaps up again since 2000. The number fell fast in the early 2000s. Starting in 2005, it generally rose until 2010, when it peaked. A gentle decline was followed by big drops in 2014 and 2015 and a partial rebound in 2016. The chart above shows the historical data from the California Department of Justice, supplemented by a different set of recent arrest numbers from the city.
The number of arrests fell 18% in West Hollywood between 2012 and 2014, based on the state data. Arrests also dropped in Los Angeles (-17%), Burbank (-9%), Culver City (-8%) and California as a whole (-2%). However, the number of arrests grew in Beverly Hills (+20%) and Santa Monica (+18%). Even with that growth, arrests in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica were still below their pre-2010 levels.
Over a longer period, West Hollywood’s trend was different from those nearby cities. In West Hollywood, the number of arrests increased 20% from 2005 to 2014. In the other cities, the number of arrests fell between 10% and 36%. Statewide, arrests dropped 20%.
For more information, see the full report, Have arrests “plummeted” in West Hollywood?
There are less arrests because there are fewer police and the police themselves say that it’s not worth going after suspects for home robbery, mail theft etc. Thank Prop 47 which downgraded many felonies to misdemeanors.
I am not sure about arrests, but our Mailboxes in my building were broken into late April. I didn’t find our about it for a few weeks, but asked about the Sheriff’s report. The HOA mgmt said they called the Sheriff, they came out but said they would not write any type of Crime Report … some excuse about US Mail? I asked our mailman, and he said the Sheriff should have make a report as it is very serious. Maybe the Sheriff is trying to make it look like less crime is going on. Refusing to take a report… Read more »