Lawless California? Homicides Up Again In 2021

December was another violent month in California. And 2021 showed homicides on the increase in the state.

“There was a 94% increase in homicides from 2019 to 2021 in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” CBS Los Angeles reported. “In 2019, there were 145 homicides in Los Angeles County, a number that went up to 199 in 2020. Sheriff Alex Villanueva did not specify last year’s homicides, but he said he believes that number is about 280.”

Fresno, California’s fifth-largest city hasn’t experienced these sorts of homicide totals since the crack epidemic peaked in the mid ‘90s, the Fresno Bee reported. Among the state’s 10 largest cities, Fresno’s 74 homicides (and counting) in a city of 540,000 people is a murder rate surpassed only by Oakland.

According to Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, there have been 57 homicides so far in the city, which he said is the highest number since 2006 (59) and second-highest since (65), CBS Sacramento reported Dec. 29, 2021.

We are awaiting the final homicide numbers in most California cities.

The Sacramento Police Department Chief’s Report found the total Number of Priority 2 Calls (Emergency situations requiring immediate police response to preserve life or apprehend subjects) jumped from 12,998 in 2020 to 13,476 in 2021, a 3.7% increase.

Sacramento shooting Reports jumped from 600 in 2020 to 752 in 2021, a 25.3% increase. There were 53 shootings in December.

The Number of Victims Shot jumped from 219 in 2020 to 256 in 2021, a 16.9% increase.

The Number of Reports with a Firearm Seized jumped from 924 in 2020 to 1,233 in 2021, a 33.4% increase.

The Total Number of Firearms Seized jumped from 1,246 in 2020 to 1,673 in 2021, a 34.3% increase.

Arrests for Possession of Firearm jumped from 840 in 2020 to 1,166 in 2021, a 38.8% increase.

Assault and/or Resist a Police Officer also increased from 750 in 2020 to 754 in 2021, a 0.5% increase.

According to the 2021 Law Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report, as of December 31, 2021, 458 federal, state, county, municipal, military, campus, tribal, and territorial officers died in the line of duty during the past year, representing a 55% increase over the 295 officers who died in the line of duty in 2020.

Of those, California had the fourth highest number with 24 officer deaths.

Notably, there were 13,589 Mental Health Related Calls for Service in Sacramento in 2021, with 1,041 in December.