Murders and robberies in LA have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, but shootings involving police officers have climbed to their highest point in a decade, according to official statistics. The contrasting trends have placed renewed scrutiny on LAPD leadership and its handling of encounters involving people with mental illness.
Statistics-focused outlet Crosstown reported on [the 14th] that murders and robberies in LA last year declined to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, citing LAPD crime data. Crosstown said the figures indicate that LA residents are living in one of the safest environments the city has experienced in decades.
Despite the sharp decline in violent crime, concerns have grown over the LAPD’s response at incident scenes. Last year, officer-involved shootings (OIS), non-tactical unintentional discharges (NUTD), and other law enforcement–related shootings (LERI) totaled more than 74 cases.
The surge in OIS was particularly notable. The LAPD recorded 47 officer-involved shootings last year, a 62% increase from 29 cases the year before. The total was the highest since 2015, when 48 cases were reported. Of the OIS incidents last year, about 30 involved suspects being shot by officers, and at least 13 people were killed.
By year, LAPD OIS cases were 26 in 2019, 27 in 2020, 37 in 2021, 31 in 2022, 34 in 2023, 29 in 2024, and 47 in 2025, showing a sharp increase in the most recent year.
The LA Police Commission (the city’s civilian police oversight body) has repeatedly voiced concern about the rise in OIS and has urged LAPD leadership to make improvements. Commissioners have emphasized the need for systems to better handle encounters with unarmed people experiencing mental illness, pointing to tragedies such as the fatal shooting of Yang Yong. Yang, who had a mental illness, was killed at the scene in May 2024 after being shot by Andres Lopez, an officer assigned to the Olympic Division.
In contrast, Jim McDonnell, the LAPD chief, has said that officers are increasingly encountering civilians armed with edged weapons or firearms. At a Police Commission meeting on January 13th, McDonnell said such encounters are becoming more frequent, making shooting responses unavoidable. At a meeting in September 2025, he said that while officers consider using Tasers or rubber-bullet launchers first, their options can be limited in rapidly unfolding situations.
Calls have also grown for Karen Bass, the LA mayor, to take a more active role in addressing the increase in officer-involved shootings. In a statement released last month, Bass said she was concerned about shootings involving officers in cases related to mental health issues.
Meanwhile, murders in LA totaled 230 cases last year, down 18% from 280 the year before. After peaking at 402 cases in 2021, the number of murders declined to 392 in 2022, 327 in 2023, 280 in 2024, and 230 in 2025, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Robberies also fell to 7,213 cases last year, a 16% decrease from 8,637 the previous year, continuing a downward trend from nearly 10,000 cases in 2019.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
