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Crime & Safety

Weho's Violent Crime Rate Increases

Robbery is up 46 percent locally even as areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report an overall crime decrease.

Data released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for January to July of this year shows that crime continues to decline overall in the communities it patrols. 

However, crime, particularly violent crime, did not drop over the last year in West Hollywood, even as L.A. County as a whole reported encouraging decreases. 

Violent crime overall increased by 13.7 percent in West Hollywood, inconsistent with a five-year trend of reduction. Robbery increased by 46 percent, compared with a five-year trend of a 4.6 percent decrease.

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West Hollywood's crime rate shows an increase because there are 92 reported cases of robbery this year alone, compared to 63 from last year at this same time, causing a 46 percent rise.

Robbery is theft through force or fear and is thus classified under violent crimes. It is distinct from burglary, committed when property owners are not present and classified as a property crime.

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West Hollywood Sheriff's Lt. David Smith attributes the increase in robbery rates to a loosely organized crime ring, which targeted the city in the first quarter of 2010. The perpetrators were not part of a known criminal gang, but were identified as a group with common features found in its crimes and victims, and were eventually arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in Beverly Hills.

Sheriff's stations experiencing the most significant decreases in overall violent crimes included Marina del Rey at 41.5 percent and Walnut at 34.2 percent.

Homicide in particular has seen a five-year continuous decrease in Los Angeles County. Over the last year, the murder rate was cut by more than half, the lowest since 1975.

Although crime rates were compared only among cities and unincorporated areas policed by the Los Angeles Sheriff Department, within that group improvements were found both over the last year and as part of a five-year trend. 

West Hollywood made no improvements in auto theft, which is also attributable to the city's character in Smith's estimation.  "Most of our community is pretty well off and the bad guys look for nice cars," he said. "Some of them are experts from car theft rings. They can steal a car in 10 seconds." 

Smith explained that a strong sheriff's presence cannot always prevent such thieves because of the city's prevalence of underground parking structures, which are out of the view of patrolling deputies. 

Methodology used in tabulating crime rates could present a misleading picture because crimes are calculated by occurrence per 10,000 residents.  An artificially low number of city inhabitants in the divisor produces a higher rate, making Weho appear more crime-dense than it really is.

West Hollywood's population is about 36,000, but with a daytime population boost of about 30,000 office workers on weekdays and 35,000 to 40,000 nightlife patrons replacing those daytime employees, the number of people present within the city's borders stays consistent at about 70,000, not counting special events, protests, tourists or the weekend club scene on Sunset Boulevard.

For some events and marches, the numbers can swell into the hundreds of thousands.

Smith encouraged residents to be aware and to not be afraid to make use of public resources, noting that the Sheriff's Department relies on information provided by inhabitants. "If you see something suspicious, call it in," he said. "Don't be afraid. That's our job.  We need everybody's help."

To view crime prevention information, as well as reported crime statistics, visit the Crime Prevention and Information page of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department website, www.lasd.org. The site provides specific statistics for each city and unincorporated community patrolled by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

The West Hollywood Sheriff Station also participates in Nixle alerts that provide detailed, up-to-date information to residents. Sign up online at https://local.nixle.com/register. For text alerts from L.A. County Sheriff's Headquarters, residents are asked to text "LASheriff" to 888777. Note that standard text messaging rates apply.

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