LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday touted a roughly 20% drop in homicides in Los Angeles in the first half of the year, saying the city is on pace for its lowest homicide total in nearly 60 years.
The Los Angeles Police Department reported 116 homicides through June 28, down from 152 during the same period in 2024.
“Reports show that Los Angeles is on pace for the lowest homicide total in 60 years,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
“Especially with the summer underway, we will continue to implement comprehensive safety strategies with law enforcement and community organizations to keep Angelenos safe,” she added. “That means swiftly responding when crime happens and holding people accountable, while also working to prevent crime from happening in the first place.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported fewer killings as well. As of May, LASD recorded 63 homicides in cities and unincorporated areas it patrols, according to department crime statistics.
In 2024, LASD reported 184 homicides, a decline of nearly 100 from 2021.
The Los Angeles Times reported that LAPD’s 2025 data aligns with trends in other major US cities showing an overall decline in homicides.
Earlier this year, Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell announced that overall crime in the city declined last year, noting that homicides dropped 14% and shooting victims decreased by 19%.
Violent crimes such as robbery, aggravated assault and rape declined slightly or remained flat compared to 2023.
The mayor’s office attributed the decline to Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) zones and other violence intervention programs. Bass previously reported a 45% drop in gang-related homicides in GRYD zones compared to 2023 and a 56% decline compared to 2022.
Homicides have steadily declined since 2021, when the city recorded more than 400 killings, making it one of the deadliest years in decades.
Nationwide, the murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020, the largest single-year increase in a century, according to Pew Research.