LOS ANGELES, CA – Homicides in Los Angeles have fallen to levels not seen since the 1960s, but Black residents still make up a share of victims far larger than their share of the population, according to city homicide figures through mid-September.
The city recorded 162 homicides through mid-September, down from 192 at the same point in 2025, according to an analysis of the data. Black victims accounted for 57 of those 162 killings, or 35%, although Black residents are about 8% of the city’s population.
That is down from 75 Black victims at this point last year. Mid-September is the most recent period for which reliable data are available.
The figures came into focus on Monday, Oct. 26, when Mayor Karen Bass held a news conference at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Community Police Station to tout the city’s crime decline. The mayoral election is about a week away, and Bass faces Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Victims by race through mid-September
Homicides of Latino victims fell slightly, from 82 through mid-September last year to 72 this year. That count remained slightly lower than the Latino share of the city’s population.
White victims, who were far fewer in number, decreased from 28 to 22. Victims whose race was listed as Asian, Middle Eastern or other declined marginally, from 7 to 6.
Taken together, the four groups account for the 162 homicides recorded through mid-September. Black residents are the only group whose share of victims is several times larger than their share of residents.
Concentration in South Los Angeles
Police divisions that have long recorded the city’s highest homicide totals, including Southeast, 77th Street and Newton, again lead the city this year.
In the 77th Street patrol area, which covers South Los Angeles around Florence Boulevard, 12 of the 20 people killed through mid-September were Black. Roughly a third of that area’s residents are Black.
The pattern in that single patrol area mirrors the citywide gap between the share of Black victims and the share of Black residents.
2025 was the lowest total since 1966
The decline builds on last year’s totals. The LAPD’s 2025 Annual Crime Data Report counts 230 homicides in 2025, the lowest since 1966 and a 19% decrease from 2024.
The report puts the 2025 homicide rate at 5.9 per 100,000 residents, the lowest per capita since 1959. The department said 68% of 2025 homicide cases were cleared and that 76 older homicides were also closed.
The LAPD also reported seizing 8,650 firearms in 2025. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said when the data was released that policing plays a critical role in public safety but is one of a much larger system.
The department publishes its annual numbers on its year-end statistics page. Separately, it releases victim-level incident data, including victim demographics, through the LAPD NIBRS Victims Dataset, which is refreshed bi-weekly. The department moved to a records system compliant with the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System in March 2024.
Bass cites four-year declines at Van Nuys news conference
At the Van Nuys news conference, Bass said homicides in Los Angeles fell 47%, or 161 fewer killings, between Oct. 22, 2022 and Oct. 22, 2026. Shooting victims fell 50%, or 573 fewer, over the same four years.
The mayor also cited San Fernando Valley figures. Burglaries are down 41%, robberies 21% and vehicle thefts 31% in 2026 compared with 2025.
Councilmembers John Lee, who represents District 12 and chairs the Public Safety Committee, and Imelda Padilla joined her. Lee said the progress in the San Fernando Valley is “significant,” with burglaries down 41 percent in the past year and major reductions in violent crime over the last four years. He added that the numbers represent fewer residents becoming victims, and he recognized the LAPD officers whose work helps make that possible.
Bass said: “While I recognize that safety is more than statistics, this data shows that we are making real progress.” She also said her number-one job is to keep Angelenos safe.
Mayor ties racial disparities to prevention programs
Asked about the persistent gap in who is killed, Bass said the disparities underscore the importance of prevention and intervention programs, including the mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development initiative, known as GRYD. “I’m glad it’s down, but I shudder at what it would be if we had not invested the resources,” she told reporters outside the Van Nuys station.
According to the mayor’s office announcement in February, Los Angeles had a 19% citywide drop in homicides in 2025 and a 27% drop in homicides in GRYD zones. The mayor’s office also said gang-related homicides in GRYD zones are down nearly 50% since Bass took office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in July that investments in community violence intervention over recent years contributed to the decline in homicides. Experts say the cause of the decline may not be known for years and is unlikely to have one simple explanation. Disparities in access to healthcare, jobs and adequate housing are thought to be among the factors that affect crime rates in communities of color.
Homicides are down in most big cities nationwide, not only in Los Angeles.
Unarmed crisis response consolidated
Bass has said funding for alternative response programs has tripled during her tenure and that she is working to integrate them into the city’s emergency response system so they do not become a side program.
On Oct. 23, she signed an executive directive creating a unified call center. It replaces the two separate civilian call centers that serve the CIRCLE and Unarmed Model of Crisis Response programs.
The directive also tells city departments to build a coordinated staffing plan to speed up recruiting, hiring and retention of 911 dispatchers. According to the mayor’s office, more than 125,000 calls have been diverted from 911 to mental health and crisis response teams since 2023.
Raman disputes the credit
Raman’s campaign responded to the announcement by saying Bass is trying to take credit for a nationwide trend. It also cited longer 911 hold times and longer streetlight repair times.
Raman’s council office says she has pushed for a single citywide unarmed crisis response program and introduced a motion asking for citywide implementation. The office says the CIRCLE and UMCR teams responded to more than 4,500 incidents in one recent month.
Her office also announced that the City Council adopted a motion to reduce 911 call wait times.
What the candidates propose on public safety
Raman has said in campaign materials that she would expand the mayor’s community safety office to oversee unarmed crisis response programs as well as other city agencies, including sanitation, fire and transportation. She would also hold weekly reviews of the LAPD, the Fire Department and other agencies, during which they would present current performance data, identify system failures and commit to time-bound corrective actions.
Raman has also spoken about replacing McDonnell. She has not said how soon she would make a change or whom she would choose to lead the department.
Both candidates have advocated hiring more gang intervention workers and investing in alternatives to policing, such as sending unarmed professionals to calls involving mental illness, homelessness and drug addiction. The low homicide numbers have been a talking point in the race, and Bass has highlighted the drop in her campaign messaging far more than Raman has.
Mayoral election is about a week away
The 162 homicides counted through mid-September are the most recent reliable figures for the city, and the racial breakdown cited here comes from an analysis of that data. The LAPD publishes its year-end statistics on its own page.
The race between Bass and Raman will be decided about a week after Bass’s Van Nuys news conference, with the homicide decline and the continuing toll among Black residents part of the debate over public safety.
