Crime reports filed in the City of LA over the last four years show the number of burglaries in homes and apartments rose by nearly 40 percent, from 5,173 in 2020 to 7,219 in 2023, according to LAPD data.
Year to date in 2024 LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said this week the number of residential burglaries rose by at least 4 percent compared with this time last year.
“Every family deserves to feel safe in their homes and in their communities,” Mayor Karen Bass said Friday in a news release addressing the recent series of home burglaries in the San Fernando Valley.
“I’ve directed urgent action in relation to recent incidents in the Valley," she said.
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Arrest data from the LAPD shows that in the same four-year period, from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec, 31, 2023, relatively few people were booked on suspicion of residential burglary.
There were 104 arrests for residential burglary in 2020, 187 in 2021, 146 in 2022, and 172 in 2023 -- or if compared with the number of crime reports, the arrests were made in less than 3% of the reported crimes.
In July a series of home burglaries took place in Encino, Tazana, and Sherman Oaks, and authorities told the I-Team they suspected several different groups of thieves had been working the neighborhoods.
The LAPD said it increased the number of patrols in the area, met with residents, and assigned detectives from specialized units to track-down the burglars.
Statistical crime report data was not available for 2024 because the LAPD is upgrading its reporting systems. Department officials said this week they expected public access to the data would be restored in the next few months.
