The California Department of Justice recently released its annual report on crime in California, which includes a breakdown by crime type and jurisdiction.
Statewide, the numbers are mixed: From 2022 to 2023, the number of reported violent crimes increased from 193,019 to 199,838, while reported property crimes decreased slightly from 902,977 to 888,840.
Los Angeles County saw increases in both reported violent and property crimes during this period. Reported violent crimes increased from 61,016 to 61,193, and reported property crimes increased from 244,083 to 256,613.
Given that this is an election year and that controversial Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is up for reelection, the increase is surely an inconvenience.
Gascón is a criminal justice reformer who believes the past criminal justice system was overly punitive, and as such, he has sought to run the district attorney’s office in a manner that critics have long described as “soft on crime.”
His opponent, Nathan Hochman, is understandably focused on the latest crime statistics.
“This is proof that the reality we experience every day in Los Angeles County is not an illusion, and that the increases in crime we have seen, heard and felt are backed up by the numbers,” he said in a statement. “With George Gascón as District Attorney, we are all less safe.”
There’s no question that Hochman is right when it comes to the perception of Los Angeles and California residents that crime is on the rise. How much responsibility Gascón bears is up for debate.
Gascón was elected at the end of 2020. It is true that since 2020, reported numbers of both violent and property crimes have increased in Los Angeles County. But both have also increased in Riverside County, which has a tough-on-crime district attorney and a tough-on-crime sheriff. While property crime has decreased in Orange County, violent crime has also skyrocketed, despite the county having a tough-on-crime district attorney.
State policies, socio-economic trends, local policing and many other factors influence crime trends. Still, at the end of the day, Hochman likely has the edge in public perception heading into the election.