Written by William Hale
After surprisingly low homicide rates in Los Angeles during the first quarter of 2022, the gang-ridden city has returned to 15-year highs with over 36 killings in the month of April, a significant increase compared to 21 homicides that occurred in April of last year.
This leaves LA on track to finish the year with more total killings than in 2021. As of April 30th, 122 people were killed in the city, whereas 116 homicides were recorded at the same time last year. 397 people were killed in Los Angeles by the end of the year in 2021 — that’s the highest yearly rate since 2006.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said that “We certainly see instances of street violence that we tie into gangs… it’s resulting in this loss of life and this high frequency of shootings.”
Homeless people have been involved in a fifth of all homicides in 2022 so far, according to Moore. Perhaps nobody should be surprised, as the once-glamorous city is now home to Democrat politicians and an overwhelmingly liberal population, thus enabling tent-cities like Skid Row where thousands of homeless stake their claim on the streets.
And just like most west coast cities in the United States, LA’s liberal consensus generates an easy-on-crime approach to gang violence in particular. After the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, crime accelerated in La La Land while people simultaneously marched the streets demanding the defunding of the police.
That radical sentiment has been losing support across the US, evident by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s proposed budget which would actually increase LAPD’s funding. Moore suggested that this budget could help identify “who the trigger-pullers are.” Despite this, everyone knows it would truly be a miracle for LA to significantly improve its decades-long crime and gang problem.
Photo Cred: CityWatch LA
