LOS ANGELES – Crime has increased 13 percent in Los Angeles in the first six months of the year, ending more than a decade of declines in the nation's second-largest city.
That's according to statistics released by the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday.
Aggravated assaults saw the sharpest increase, jumping 26 percent the first six months of the year compared to the same time period in 2014. Rapes were up 8 percent and robberies nearly 17 percent. Only homicides saw a decrease — about 7 percent.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference that "this is bad news" but that Los Angeles remains one of the safest large cities in the U.S.
Police Chief Charlie Beck partially attributed the crime spike to increases in homelessness, gang crime and domestic violence.