According to data from the Los Angeles Police Department, crime reports filed in the city over the past four years show that burglaries in homes and apartments have increased nearly 40%, from 5,173 in 2020 to 7,219 in 2023.
Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi said this week that residential burglary cases are up at least 4 percent so far in 2024 compared to the same period last year.
“Every family has the right to feel safe in their home and community,” Mayor Karen Bass said Friday in a news release about a recent string of residential burglaries in the San Fernando Valley.
“I have ordered emergency action in relation to the recent incidents in the valley,” she said.
During that same four-year period, from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2023, relatively few people were arrested on suspicion of residential burglary, according to Los Angeles Police Department arrest data.
The number of arrests for residential burglary was 104 in 2020, 187 in 2021, 146 in 2022, and 172 in 2023, which, compared to the number of reported crimes, means arrests were made for less than 3% of reported crimes.
A string of residential burglaries occurred in Encino, Tazana and Sherman Oaks in July, and authorities told the I-Team they suspect several different thieves were operating in nearby areas.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it had increased patrols in the area, met with residents and deployed specialized detectives to track down the robbers.
Statistical crime reporting data was not available for 2024 because the Los Angeles Police Department is upgrading its reporting system. Police officials said this week that they expect public access to the data to be restored in the coming months.
