{"id":501518,"date":"2026-01-08T14:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/501518\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:37:15","slug":"whos-responsible-for-steep-homicide-decline-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/501518\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s responsible for steep homicide decline in California?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The number of homicides in some of California\u2019s biggest cities dropped to remarkably low levels in 2025, a piece of good news that immediately touched off debate about who, or what, was responsible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say that while politicians in both parties claimed credit for improved safety, there won\u2019t ever be a definitive explanation for what caused the decline in killings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and other cities.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles tallied 230 homicides in 2025, as my colleagues Libor Jany and Richard Winton reported<\/a>. Although that number is not final, because investigators are continuing to assess some deaths, it would probably represent the fewest killings since 1966, when LA. had 30% fewer residents. Measuring per capita, it was the city\u2019s safest year since 1959.<\/p>\n

Similarly, San Francisco counted just 28 homicides in 2025, a 20% decline from the 35 killings it had the year prior. It marked the Bay city\u2019s lowest total since 1954. And Oakland logged 66 homicides through Dec. 28, on pace to become the lowest annual total since 1967. That\u2019s a huge decline from the 125 homicides that rocked the city in 2023.<\/p>\n

A positive national crime trend<\/p>\n

Those figures mirror what\u2019s being reported in cities across America. A spike in violence that accompanied the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020 has reversed itself sharply. The numbers don\u2019t only reflect a drop in homicide rates but also lower overall rates of violence. In Oakland, for instance, crimes categorized as violent \u2014 including homicide, aggravated assault, rape and robbery \u2014 declined by one-quarter from 2024 to 2025.<\/p>\n

Axios quoted a crime statistics expert as saying<\/a> that the U.S., as a whole, was on pace for the the largest one-year drop in murders ever recorded.<\/p>\n

New York City and Memphis recorded nearly a 20% drop in murders compared with 2024, and Chicago recorded a drop of almost 28%.<\/p>\n

Authorities pinned the high urban homicide rates of the 1980s and 1990s, in part, to turf battles over the crack cocaine business. Although the sale of other illicit drugs, like fentanyl, has emerged in recent years, the rates of violence associated with them have not been as high.<\/p>\n

The national Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, cautioned analysts not to read too much into the homicide figures and not to draw conclusions without more information.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter reaching an historic low in 2014, the national homicide rate spiked by 23% just two years later,\u201d the Council on Criminal Justice says on its website. \u201cWhile there are plausible theories for that turnabout, and for the volatile patterns over the past five years, the drivers of these trends are poorly understood. Greater investment in rigorous research is critical to shed more light on the changing crime landscape and to craft effective crime control approaches for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

As my colleagues reported earlier, some experts in L.A. credited the return of social services that declined during the pandemic. The LAPD warned that fewer resources and manpower risk triggering an uptick in crime. But the latest data show killings have fallen even as the LAPD staffing has declined and seen officers conduct fewer traffic stops and interactions with the public than in past years.<\/p>\n

The White House takes credit<\/p>\n

When asked about the decline, the White House said in a statement: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what happens when you have a President committed to enforcing the law and punishing criminals. President Trump\u2019s policies are Making America Safe Again from California to DC and everywhere in between \u2014 and he\u2019s just getting started.\u201d That echoed a statement from Republicans in the House.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement of her own, saying her comprehensive approach to public safety made a difference. She said her office of Community Safety \u201chas served thousands of Angelenos through the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, case management, connections to mental health treatment and drug treatment, reentry services and community programming like Summer Night Lights that served more than 110,000 Angelenos across the city this past year.\u201d<\/p>\n

She scoffed at Republican claims, saying they \u201care famous for voting to cut funding to the very programs that keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Hundreds <\/p>\n

Hundreds of survivors gather in Palisades Village to commemorate the anniversary of the Palisades fire.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Anniversary of the January firesTrial of Nick Reiner<\/p>\n