Crime & Safety

VIDEO: LAPD Capt. Bill Murphy Discusses New Year Crime Stats

Violent crime is down but auto-related property crimes continue to be Northeast L.A.'s top problem.

Violent crime in Northeast Los Angeles went down 46 percent in January, compared to December 2012—the greatest reduction in any of the Los Angeles Police Department 21 stations—but auto-related crimes continue to be the region’s Number One problem, according to a weekend webcast by LAPD Capt. Bill Murphy.

The commander of the LAPD Northeast Community Station starts his nearly five-and-a-half-minute address by explaining changes currently underway to the force’s Senior Lead Officer positions in such neighborhoods as Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Atwater Village—a subject Murphy discussed at considerable length in his interview last month to Eagle Rock Patch.

The Northeast Division is adjusting to a recent change in crime patterns. “Most of last year and the very first week of this year, a lot of the crime was occurring on what we call AM 1—between midnight to 6 a.m.,” Murphy says in his webcast, alluding to grand theft auto and vehicle burglaries. “In the last three weeks, we believe that’s changed because we put so many police forces on that crime—we changed the criminal behavior.”

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Much of the auto-related crimes are now occurring during the daytime to early evening, Murphy said, emphasizing the LAPD’s well-known “Lock it, Hide it, Keep it” advice regarding vehicles and personal possessions left inside them. A third of auto break-ins, the captain noted, occur because vehicles are not locked in the first place.

Click on the YouTube video above to hear Murphy’s Feb. 2 regional crime webcast.

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Eagle Rock