ANTELOPE VALLEY – Violent crimes, which include homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault, have increased by 16% in Lancaster and 3.5% in Palmdale, according to a report released by the Sheriff’s Department this week.
The report includes a comparison of the crime rates for the first six months of this year with the same period in 2011.
In Lancaster, homicides jumped 100% (from 4 to 8); while in Palmdale, homicides dropped by 42% (from 7 to 4).
Robberies in Palmdale have also decreased by 6.6% (from 136 to 117), while robberies have increased in Lancaster by nearly 24% (from 135 to 167).
Both places have seen a rise in rapes – up 26 % in Palmdale (from 19 to 24) and 36% in Lancaster (from 19 to 26).
Property crimes, which include burglary, larceny theft, grand theft auto, and arson, have also increased in Lancaster and Palmdale.
In Lancaster, property crimes jumped by 23.9%, and in Palmdale, property crimes were up by 16.3%.
The rate of violent and serious crime has increased in all 42 contract cities and over 100 unincorporated communities where the Sheriff is the official policing agency, according to L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich.
Antonovich blames prison realignment for the crime increase.
“The District Attorney was right when he predicted that there would be a spike in crime as a result of the Governor’s irresponsible realignment program,” Antonovich said in a news release. “This law needs to be changed — our cities and counties are being victimized by it.”
View the reports for Lancaster and Palmdale below (click on the images to enlarge).
View the full 119-page report here.
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