By Stephen Witt
Los Angeles City Mayor Bass marked National Night Out yesterday at the Stoner Park Baseball Field in West Los Angeles as violent felony crime plunges across the City.
Established in 1984, National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign promoting police-community partnerships and camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer and more caring.
“Together, we have taken a comprehensive approach to public safety by stopping crime when it happens, but also preventing crime from occurring in the first place,” said Bass. “National Night Out demonstrates how, by building critical partnerships, we can continue to decrease crime, prevent gang violence, and ensure we are creating a safer Los Angeles.”
According to the latest citywide police statistics, all the violent felony crimes, including homicides, rape, robberies, and aggravated assaults, are down for the year. The non-violent felony crimes of burglary, auto theft, and grand larceny have also seen reductions for the year.
Thus far in 2025, there have been a reported 158 homicides as compared to 178 at this time last year, or a more than 11% drop. Similarly, there have been 707 reported rapes this year as compared to 898 at this point in 2024, or a little more than a 21% decrease.
Armed robberies have dropped more than 60% for the year, with a reported 4,320 robberies thus far in 2025 compared to 10,860 at this point last year. Aggravated assaults are down more than 17% for the year.
Earlier this year, Bass and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell announced drops in homicides and citywide property crimes while pledging continued aggressive action to keep Angelenos safe.
Bass also announced that violence had significantly decreased in targeted Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) zones across Los Angeles in 2024 due to the work of community violence interventionists. The Mayor reported a 45% decrease in gang-related homicides in GRYD zones compared to 2023. GRYD zones have seen a 56% decrease in gang-related homicides compared to 2022.
Bass’s crime-fighting approach is two-pronged: responding to crime when it happens and working to prevent crime from happening in the first place through the creation of the Office of Community Safety.
The Office’s programs include Summer Night Lights, which provides safe, family-friendly programming to prevent violence in specific neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. Summer Night Lights concludes its programming this Friday, August 8.
