L.A. Summer Homicides Hit 41-Year Low

Los Angeles Police say there were 84 homicides in the city from June through August - the fewest summer slayings since the summer of 1967, when there were 79 killings.

Chief William Bratton released the homicide statistics Tuesday, adding that all categories of violent and property crimes are down from last year.

Homicides peaked in 1991, when there were 323 killings in three months.

The police chief attributes the continued decline in part to the department's use of detailed crime maps to deploy officers to crime centers, the mayor's anti-gang initiative and the hiring of new officers.