Valley Murder Rate Up; Still Lowest in L.A.

Despite experiencing the biggest percentage increase in homicides in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley retained the lowest murder rate of any region in the city, according to year-end crime statistics released Tuesday.

The 109 people killed in the Valley in 1995 represented a 28% increase over the previous year’s toll. Still, the jump in slayings did nothing to push the Valley’s murder rate anywhere close to the deadly pace of the city’s central region, for instance, where 351 people were slain last year.

Violent crimes of all types dropped 2.8% overall last year in the Valley, though a 4.6% decrease in robberies and a 2.6% dip in aggravated assaults was offset by an 8.6% rise in rapes.

“I don’t think there is any question about it,” said Harry Coleman, a North Hills resident active in police-backed community anti-crime groups. “The Valley is the safest place in the city, and the nice thing is, it’s getting even safer.”

Some communities registered decreases in crime that bettered even the Valley average.

In the northwest San Fernando Valley, civilian volunteers joined police in ridding the infamous Sepulveda Corridor of drug dealers and their street-level sales. Those efforts contributed to a 10.6% drop in violent crimes in the Devonshire Division, the biggest decrease among the city’s 18 police divisions.

“In 1994, there was the earthquake, a lot of people were displaced and crime decreased,” said LAPD Capt. Vance Proctor, commanding officer of the Devonshire Division, which patrols the northwest Valley.

“So, for us to have another decrease in 1995, I think was a remarkable accomplishment.”

Violent crimes dropped last year in the North Hollywood Division by 7.7% and in the West Valley Division by 1.1%, while both the Foothill and Van Nuys divisions recorded slight increases.

Police and residents attribute the Valley’s relatively low crime rate--contrasted with other parts of the city--to its large numbers of homeowners and massive network of Neighborhood Watch volunteers.

“The San Fernando Valley has a lot of residential areas,” Proctor said. “People have a sense of pride in their homes . . . there’s a different attitude about things.”

In fact, more people were killed last year in the Central Bureau’s Rampart Division--which covers only 7.9 square miles and has a population of 264,296--than in the entire Valley, which covers 221 square miles and has 1.26 million people. According to LAPD statistics, there were 125 homicides in Rampart, contrasted with 109 slayings in the Valley Bureau’s five divisions.

Citywide, violent crimes dropped 3.4%, including a stunning three-year, 35% decline in homicides in the city’s South Bureau, which reported 264 homicides last year, contrasted with 407 in 1993. “The results are a reduction of tragedy in families and fear on the streets,” said Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker, commanding officer of the South Bureau.

Los Angeles police also made other crime-fighting gains last year, including a 4.7% reduction in property crimes citywide.

In the Valley, burglaries dropped 9.2% and burglary from automobiles by 3.7%, while auto theft rose 4.2% and theft from persons increased by 9.4%.

Coleman, however, said despite the crime-fighting gains made by police and residents in recent years, there are still tough times ahead.

“We’re at a very difficult crossroads,” said Coleman, who is also president of the North Hills Community Coordinating Council, a group that works with police and other city agencies to reduce drug dealing, prostitution and gang crimes in the northwest Valley.

“We have things under control, but now we must keep it that way,” he said. “That will be a challenge.”