Do Tough Economic Times Yield More Crime?

The Los Angeles Times reports… “Not necessarily.” From the recent news article: “Despite a reeling economy, crime in Los Angeles and many other parts of Southern California fell in 2008 for the sixth consecutive year, challenging the widely held theory that crime rises at times of economic tumult…

… Sheriff Lee Baca, predicted a year ago that the ailing economy would probably result in crime increases, particularly in struggling neighborhoods where unemployment was on the rise. Unemployment in Los Angeles County is now near 9%. But the rise in crime has not materialized. Baca and other law enforcement officials said it still may just be a matter of time.”

In the early 90’s a similar economic crisis resulted in a major increase in crime in Los Angeles and Orange County. During this time, crime soared to levels roughly three times the current figures, but so did Los Angeles locksmith services. But the numbers as reported by the Times about recent crimes in Los Angeles aren’t so easily explainable.

The OC Register has a different outlook. “After a 30-year low of bank robberies in 2007, bank heists climbed steeply across Southern California in 2008, statistics show. In Orange County alone, there were 145 bank robberies – an increase of 41 percent compared to the previous year.” Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department said, “Bank robberies definitely increase during poor economic conditions.” Many of the reported bank robberies last year were undertaken by struggling, out of work local residents who had no history of having committed previous crimes.

For example, on Dec. 12, 45-year-old Abel Fernandez of Laguna Niguel was arrested on suspicion of being behind 17 bank robberies – most of them in South County. Besides a handful of traffic citations, Fernandez had never been in serious trouble with the law, according to Orange County court records. Fernandez, a father of four, told investigators after he was arrested, he was working during that time in the real estate industry. Authorities allege he began to rob banks again when he was laid off, Amormino said.

Despite the varying takes on whether or not desperate times call for desperate crimes, the Los Angeles Police Department is bulking up thanks to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. City Hall has been cutting many services and focusing the budget towards increasing the ratio of LAPD officers to residents in order to better serve the city. Could this be the reason crime is down? And just how many of our tax dollars is our Mayor willing to allocate to the LAPD instead of other important city programs?

Many residences and businesses are bulking up on security too. Commercial Locksmith Los Angeles companies service business places with high security locks, panic devices, and safes. Similarly Residential Locksmith Los Angeles services deal with home security issues like deadbolts, gate locks, mailbox locks, and CCTV systems. Some even offer free Los Angeles home security checks which can tell you which aspects of your home are inviting to desperate robbers.

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