VIOLENCE PREVENTION COALITION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
FACT SHEET
VIOLENCE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
•
Each year paramedics in Los Angeles County respond to approximately
25,000 calls for assistance following acts of violence. This compares to about
8,000 calls fo r heart attacks.
- Emergency Medical Services, Los Angeles County Department of Health
Services
•
In 2002, there were 474 homicides in the City of Los Angeles, an increase of
23.4% from 2001.
- LAPD Crime Statistics, 2002
•
In 2002, there were 949 rapes in the City of Los Angeles, an increase of 1.1%
since 2001.
- LAPD Crime Statistics, 2002
•
In 2002, there were13,915 aggravated assaults/ domestic violence crimes in
the City of Los Angeles, an increase of 4.6% since 2001
- LAPD Crime Statistics, 2002
•
Of the 1,070 reported homicides in Los Angeles County in 2000, 448 were
gang-related. The percentage of gang-related homicides more than doubled
from 1980 to 2000.
- Scott Carrier, Coroner's Office; Wes McBride, LA County Sheriff's
Department
•
In 2000, there were 933 hate crimes reported in LA County, an increase from
previous years. Of the 933 crimes reported in 2000, 562 were racially
based, 218 involved sexual orientation, 148 were motivated by religion, three
related to gender and two involved disability. There was a 22.7% increase in
racially motivated crimes from the previous year.
- LA County Commission on Human Relations, 2002
•
Hate crime offenders in 2000 were overwhelmingly male: 89% of the suspects
were under the age of 25.
- LA County Commission on Human Relations, 2002
•
Each year, almost 1,500 people with intentional injuries are hospitalized
through the emergency department at the King-Drew Medical Center. The
majority of these injuries were not gang - or drug-related.
- Paul Juarez, King-Drew Medical Center
For more information call Billie P. Weiss, M.P.H. at (213) 351-7888
Copyright (c) 1998 VPCLA. All rights reserved. Revised September 2002
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
3530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #800 / Los Angeles, CA 90010 / 213/351-7888
•
In surveys of 12 cities in 1998, the percentage of violent crimes in which the
offender was a stranger to the victim ranged from 42% in Tucson to 74% in
Los Angeles.
- Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002
•
The victims and offenders of most violence in Los Angeles County are of the
same race/ethnicity
- Billie Weiss, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
•
The overall number of crimes on primary and secondary school campuses in
LA County have increased by 8% between 1995-1999.
- Children’s Planning Council, 2002
•
In 1999, half of reported school crimes involved a crime against persons, or a
drug or alcohol offense. The most common category for school crimes in LA
County were property crimes.
- Children’s Planning Council, 2002
•
In 1999, misdemeanor arrests accounted for 61.1% of all youth arrests in LA
County. In most areas, a majority of felony youth arrests resulted from
property offenses.
- Children’s Planning Council, 2002
•
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office prosecutes nearly 21,000 cases of
domestic violence each year with a conviction rate of 77%.
- Alana Bowman, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
•
In 2000, LA county had 35,740 domestic violence related calls for assistance,
this is the highest in California (total 60,960 calls).
- Los Angeles Almanac 2002
•
In Los Angeles, rates of sexual assault are about the same for AfricanAmerican and White women. (Gail E. Wyatt, UCLA) Rates of sexual assault
for Hispanic women are lower than for non-Hispanic white women.
- Susan B. Sorenson, UCLA
•
During the 1999-2000 school year, there were 1,587 student victimization
reports in elementary, middle, high, and special education schools in LAUSD.
- LASPD, 2002
•
In 1999, there were 146,583 child abuse and neglect referrals to DCFS in LA
County
- Children’s Planning Council, 2002
For more information call Billie P. Weiss, M.P.H. at (213) 351-7888
Copyright (c) 1998 VPCLA. All rights reserved. Revised September 2002
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
3530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #800 / Los Angeles, CA 90010 / 213/351-7888
•
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is among the highest in the country for
violent deaths at the workplace.
- Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 1997
•
Over half (55%) of the violence related workplace deaths in California
occurred in Los Angeles County.
- California Dept of Industrial Relations, 1995
•
In Los Angeles County, there were 405 homicide deaths reported in the
workplace between January 1992 and 1998. Among these, 89% were killed
by a gun.
- California Dept of Health Services
•
A total of 1,165 residents of LA County in 2000 lost their lives to guns. Three
of our neighbors each day, over 90 per month died in firearm homicides,
firearm suicides, or accidental shootings.
- California Dept of Vital Statistics, 2000
•
13% of LA County residents who died in gun violence in 2000 were 18 years
old or younger.
- California Dept of Vital Statistics, 2000
•
Nineteen LA County children between the ages of 12 and 19 committed
suicide with a gun in 2000.
- California Dept of Vital Statistics, 2000
•
Of all the victims of gun violence in LA County who were under the age of 18,
13% were girls.
- California Dept of Vital Statistics, 2000
•
In LA County, the highest number of gun deaths in 2000 by race were Latinos
(473), followed by African Americans (341) and Caucasians (305). The
firearm death rate in 2000 was highest for African Americans (40.6 per
100,000
- California Dept of Vital Statistics, 2000
This fact sheet may be reproduced a nd distributed without permission provided
the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles is cited 9/2002
For more information call Billie P. Weiss, M.P.H. at (213) 351-7888
Copyright (c) 1998 VPCLA. All rights reserved. Revised September 2002
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
3530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #800 / Los Angeles, CA 90010 / 213/351-7888