Per the LA Times, crime is up 12% so far this year.
We have experienced this alarming trend in our own business. We have been managing apartments in LA since 2008. Between 2008 and 2014, we had one break-in. This year, we’ve had 3-4.
If you talk to any police officer, she will tell you that the increase in crime is tied directly to “prison re-alignment”, which is CA’s euphemism for letting a bunch of low-level offenders out of state prisons.
I get that many people think that our society is over-policed and over-incarcerated. And I get that the state needs to balance spending on prisons with its other commitments (to schools, etc.).
But I think citizens have an absolute right to live in safe neighborhoods. And, unfortunately, that probably requires:
- A bigger, more aggressive LAPD; and
- Willingness, on the part of the city and the state, to spend the money to keep a bunch of low-lifes in jail
There are so many amazing things happening in LA right now, including the emergence of Silicon Beach, the creation of a serious public transit system, the revitalization of DTLA, etc.
All of this progress, literally all of it, is meaningless if Angelenos can’t feel safe in their city.