Police Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday that the city had the fewest number of crimes last year since 1957 and overall crime was down for the ninth consecutive year, but there was one more homicide than the previous year.
A total of 104,215 violent and property crimes were logged in 2011, the lowest per capita since 1952, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
Beck and Villaraigosa attributed the decline to the size of the police force—9,963 officers—which had been threatened by budget cuts early last year.