LAPD Credits Focus On Gun Crime For Impressive Drop In Murders

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — L.A.'s murder rate for the summer of 2017 was so low it stunned LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

The LAPD reported just 59 homicides for this summer, the lowest since 1966. There were 76 last summer. Overall it's down 9 percent for the year.

"59 is amazing, it's amazing," Beck said.

The summer rate is calculated from June 1 to Labor Day.

In fact, L.A. has been getting safer over the last two decades. The summer murder rate average over the last 20 years is 115. The average over the last 10 years is 85.

How did they do it?

"Good focused policing, being in the right place at the right time, good social programs and engineering, it's a lot of things," Beck said.

Sixty percent of all the murders are gang related. Beck added that taking guns off the streets has had a big influence in the drop in murders.

After a murder spree in August of 25 with 39 homicides the department said drastic changes were needed.

"We really began to focus on gun crime, on gang crimes of violence." Beck said.

In July, LAPD confiscated nearly 4,000 guns through routine traffic stops.

In Chicago, the same summer months had 234 homicides.