Written by William Hale
Los Angeles has long been a center for violent crime, and while L.A. has more gun-violence than most other southern California cities, shootings are rising in various urban areas across the country. This unacceptable American trend has not garnered a lack of attention, but despite the national cultural effort to solve gun-violence L.A.’s homicide numbers have returned to where they were nearly 15 years ago.
When reflecting on L.A.’s history over the last several decades, the 1990’s feels like peak civil dysfunction. But neighborhoods once unapproachable in the 90’s due to deadly criminal gangs have resurged as homicide hotspots.
In 2021, Long Beach, Compton, Florence-Flinstone, and Watts have all seen a significant increase in homicides. Perhaps this is unsurprising for these seemingly too-far-gone sections of LA, but other historically less dangerous areas have also experienced a rise in gun violence. Hollywood, Hyde Park, and El Sereno are just a few areas that had over 50% increases in homicides from 2020 to 2021.
Regardless of the sharp increases in particular locales, the entirety of L.A. is dealing with a serious violent crime problem. 392 homicides were committed in L.A. as of December 29, 2021, that’s over 50% more than in 2019 and the most of any year since 2007. L.A. also had 1,400 shooting survivors — the second year in a row where gun violence has increased.
A plethora of issues amongst the gun violence persist in the City of Angels. Tent-cities like Skid Row and bad public schools for example have transformed the formerly glorious city into a complete mess — a common pattern in Democratic controlled urban areas.
Photo Cred: Rick McClure/ Los Angeles Police Department
