Is there Crime in you area? - Crime in Compton

Compton is undoubtedly the most dangerous place for crimes in Los Angeles County of California. The neighborhood is well known for crimes such as murder, burglary, rape, assault, homicide, arson, auto theft and robbery. According to city-data.com crime index, Compton has been recording extremely high rates of crime than the U.S average over the past decade. The data statistics between 2012 and 2014 when the survey was last done illustrate that Compton experienced an average of 500 incidences of crime per 100,000 civilians compared to an average of 250 for every 100,000 people throughout the country. In 2014, theft took the largest percentage with 36%, followed by auto thefts and assaults with 19%, Burglaries come in third with 14% while robberies take 9%, and the other crimes make up the remaining 3%. For a long span of time, America has recorded an average of 287.5 events of crime compared to Compton’s  633.7. In 2014 alone, Compton had a very high rate of crime (497.4) compared to its neighboring cities Paramount with 271.7, Carson with 234.3, Gardena with 258.6, Downey with 215.9, Huntington Park with 371.2, South Gate with 297.6, Lynwood with 278.1 and Cudahy with 159.5 ("crime rate in Compton, California (CA)", 2016).

Compton crime index reveals that its annual crimes total to 3,789. Property crime consists of the largest share which is 2,641 while the remaining 1,148 comes as a result of violence. The yearly crimes per 1,000 residents are 11.64 for violent crimes and 26.79 property crimes to make a total of 38.43.  The violent crimes in Compton per 1,000 residents are 11.64 in comparison to California’s 3.96. This means that the chances of an individual in Compton to become a victim of violent crime are 1 out of 86 people while in the larger California area, it’s 1 out of 252. On the other hand, property crime rate in Compton is 26.79 in contrast with California’s 24.41. This makes chances of becoming a victim 1 in 37 in Compton and 1 in 41 in California. The crimes per square mile are 374 for Compton and 83 for California ("crime rate in Compton, California (CA)", 2016).

Unfortunately, Compton homicide rate has tripled in 2016.  Seven people were killed in May alone due to what the police describe as increased gang-related violence that was reminiscent of a gang-related crime surge in 2013. According to statistics published by the Los Angeles Times in May 2016, 15 people (9 due to gang related violence) had already been killed in Los Angeles, two more lives than they were in the whole of 2015. Compton was selected as one of the 13 cities to get assistance from the Violence Reduction Network (VRN). This program seeks to help cities that face high violent crime numbers by using various educational initiatives and training among other programs. Whereas the organization provides resources to help with long-term plans to minimize and combat violent crimes, it will still take time to implement the Initiative. According to Satra Zurita, a local school board member who helps Compton run the program, what VRN does is provide resources and expertise that will assist in the long run and not cure everything at once as people may think (Wicks, 2016).

Compton has received outside training from Oakland Police Department and Arizona State University to help prevent and reduce gang participation while solidifying community relations. The city has also implemented programs that target recidivist and youth programs as means of combating crime. Following the May shooting attacks, Brown, the city mayor issued a statement that encouraged the community members with relevant information to contact homicide investigators. Church leaders also called for peace at a rally within Compton. Despite the high rate of crime, minimal or no arrests are made, and the culture of violence is still passed on from generation to generation in a cycle. However, there’s still hope as the city has dedicated plenty of resources to address the serious violent crimes and initiated proactive intervention and prevention methods. Ballot initiatives like Measure P also came up to strive for additional revenue to address lighting, street lights, gang prevention programs and public safety in Compton ("Series of Shootings in Compton Leave 4 Dead", 2016).