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).
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