KTLA News: "Crime rates in Los Angeles" (1974)

[Reporter Carlos Aguilar] ...and we're uh...we're, we're seeing here with the shootouts and hostages... maybe four in the last month. [Hagen] Right. [Aguilar] There was both good and bad news in the Los Angeles Police Department report on crime. On a good note there was a reduction of rape, burglary and grand theft. The increase came in violent crimes like willful homicide and aggravated assault. The most vivid examples of these are the televised SLA shootout last month. Two weeks, ago two men held two hostages for some 14 hours until police could talk them into giving up. Yesterday, a young man attracted police only to kill him and in the process he lost his life and killed one policeman. [Mr. Hagen] Well, I'm afraid violent crimes will be with us in to some degree. Uh...homicides throughout the United States have increased 130% in the last 10 years. I don't know if it is a pressure of the times on individual certainly murder would indicate that... people commit murder as a result of outside pressures. You have the family feud- a husband and wife accounts for a large percentage of uh...of uh...homicides. [Aguilar] Police Department still says that they have lower crime rates than other major cities across the country but they're concerned about a particular crime that's occurring nowadays and that's group murders. They're also concerned about the number of juveniles involved in violent crimes. Carlos Aguilar...Channel 5 News...Los Angeles. [Silence]. [Room noise]. [Aguilar] Uh...Mr. Hagen, describe to us what's happening to the City. Why the increase? [Hagen] Well, actually... [Silence]. [Aguilar] Mr. Hagen ,what's happening to the City? Why the increase in crime? [Hagen] Well, this increase is not as bad as it would look at first brush. The seven crimes that are categorized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed an increase of only 1.9 in the City of Los Angeles. Now the crimes that sow fear in the heart of people, robbery, stayed constant. Burglary of homes decreased by 1.9% and forcible rapes decreased by 6.7%. Now where we did experience a tremendous increase was in homicides and grand theft. Grand theft, as you recall in the early part of this year, we had a scare on the energy crises and some trucks were hijacked with fuel. Other trucks were hijacked with loads of liquor and food and clothing. So on those two items the grand theft, which is theft over two hundred dollars, uh...shows a 15% increase. So actually we're not too badly off. Now I'll promise you that the Los Angeles Police Department will gear her energies to cut down on grand theft. We'll have done a pretty good job on protecting homes and protection against robberies. Robberies, incidentally, is a good index according to most police administrators, as to the efficiency of a local police department. [Aguilar] What can we expect in during the rest of the year? How about violent crimes? [Hagen] And this is not a defensive statement but they are have increased at a faster rate than other metropolitan areas in Los Angeles. So in spite of the fact, by comparison, we're doing a pretty good job. [Aguilar] Have you come up, as investigators, for a reason for the increase? Why the crime increase all over the country and we're up there? [Hagen] One phenomena... the group...uh...engaged like the Manson group of a few years ago killing another group. So this is something that we're going to be confronted with in the years to come, I'm sure. [Room noise]. [Silence]. [Aguilar] There was both good and bad news in the Los Angeles Police Department report on crime. On a good note there was a reduction of rapes, burglaries and grand theft. The increase came in violent crimes like willful homicide and aggravated assault. The most vivid examples of these are the televised shootout between the SLA and Los Angeles Police Department. [Parking lot traffic noise]. [Aguilar] The police are still concerned about violent crimes and they're working hard at keeping the record low. They say they're worried about the number of homicide arrests and especially the ones that include, include juveniles. Carlos Aguilar...Channel Five News...at the Wilshire Police Department. [Parking lot noise]. [Aguilar] The Los Angeles Police Department says that they are still lower in crime rate than other major cities across the country. They're concerned about a particular type of crime that's occurring nowadays and that's group murders. And they're also concerned about the number of juveniles involved in violent crimes. Carlos Aguilar...Channel Five News...at the Los Angeles Police Department in Wilshire.