LA homicides in 1st half of year reach 15-year high: Report

LOS ANGELES - In the first half of the year, there were 181 homicides in the city of Los Angeles, the highest number in the past 15 years, according to data released Monday by a nonprofit news organization.

According to Crosstown at USC, a nonprofit news organization based at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, there were 178 homicides in the city during the first six months of 2021.

By the end of last year, 397 homicides occurred in the city, the highest number since 2007, according to Los Angeles Police Department data complied by Crosstown.

The 181 homicides in the first six months of 2022 is the highest total since 2007, according to Crosstown. But whether it means the city this year will surpass the soaring number from 2021 remains to be seen.

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Crosstown's report noted that killings tend to spike in the summer, with 48 homicides recorded in July of last year.

According to Crosstown, 42 homicide victims in the first half of the year, or 23.2%, were categorized by the LAPD as unhoused, up from 37 in the same period last year. In the first six months of 2019, prior to the pandemic, 23 homicide victims were categorized as unhoused.

More than 75% of the homicides so far this year involved some type of firearm, according to Crosstown.

Of the homicide victims in the first half of the year, 158 were male, while just 12.7% of victims were female.

Crosstown's data indicated that arrests were made in 43% of the killings in the first half of the year.

The report noted that the data only reflects crimes that were reported to the LAPD, not how many crimes actually occurred.