For the third month in a row, overall crime in Los Angeles has declined, according to data on reported incidents released by the Los Angeles Police Department. Total incidents fell from 17,893 in September to 17,379 in October, representing a drop of about 3 percent.

The decrease is even larger—nearly 15 percent—when comparing this past month to the same month one year ago. Crime incidents tend to follow similar seasonal ups and downs each year, so it makes the most sense to compare the same calendar month year-to-year.

Total crimes per day (rolling seven-day average), past 90 days, compared to previous year

Most types of crimes decreased this month, led by theft and burglary. Petty theft declined from 1,769 reported incidents in September to 1,618 in October. Grand theft declined from 721 to 651 incidents, and burglary incidents from 1,311 to 1,244.

Auto-related incidents are also on the decline. Vehicle theft dropped from 1,372 to 1,316 incidents per month, and theft from a vehicle dropped from 1,123 to 1,079 incidents. Various forms of counterfeiting and fraud were flat overall over the last two months, but have shown the largest decline from one year ago.

These categories are all down from the same time last year as well. Petty theft, burglary, and vehicle theft have each decreased by over 200 incidents per month since October of 2017.

Monthly crime incidents vs. one year ago, top 15 offense types

However, this month did see an uptick in vandalism, battery, homicide, and family-related crimes. Police reports of vandalism increased from 1,660 in September to 1,718 in October, surpassing petty theft to become the second most common offense type in the city. Battery remains the largest category, increasing from 1,808 to 1,828 incidents this past month.

Criminal homicides rose from 15 incidents in September to 23 in October, but that number is down from 28 reported homicides last October. Intimate partner assaults also rose this month, from 1,250 to 1,274 incidents, but have declined from 1,336 per month one year ago. Instances of child neglect rose from 18 to 28 this past month, and are up from 21 last October.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, the neighborhoods with the highest density of reported incidents are Little Tokyo, DTLA, and Hollywood. Crime rose in Little Tokyo by about 7.7 percent this past month, and is up by 20 percent from the same time last year. Downtown-area crime remained about the same from September to October, but is down by about 6.7 percent from last October.

Heatmap of crime incidents within the city of Los Angeles last month

Hollywood has achieved the largest gains, with crime dropping by about 2.5 percent this past month, and about 23 percent from this time last year. Among the neighborhoods with the next highest crime density, Koreatown incidents increased this month by about 7.6 percent, while neighboring Westlake incidents declined by 10 percent. Both have dropped by more than 15 percent from October of last year.

Regarding day and time factors, the decrease in crime this month occurred mostly on Saturdays and Sundays, while incidents increased on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Crime is fairly evenly spread throughout the week, and all days except Wednesdays have seen a decrease since the same month a year ago. Peak hours for crime incidents in Los Angeles continue to be during the lunch hour, and early to late evening.

To report an emergency or crime in process, contact LAPD at 911; for non-emergencies, call 877-ASK-LAPD.