200 robberies reported in last week alone, LAPD Chief Michel Moore says
Moore said homicides have gone up about 50% since 2019 and aggravated assaults have gone up about 16%.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said he's working to "more aggressively" go after criminals and seek "full prosecution" as the city sees an alarming spike in violent crimes.
During a virtual news conference on Tuesday, Moore spoke candidly about the increase in crime and said he's increasing patrols to curb the violence.
"Right now, I believe that the efforts of the last year and a half or so created at least a perception of a more permissive environment," said Moore. "For people that have the ability to go out and engage in this type of conduct we are talking about here with no consequence."
Zero-bail policies mean, in some instances, suspects are quickly released from custody after they're arrested and booked for the crimes. The current zero-bail policy was designed to reduce jail populations during the pandemic.
"Two years ago, a person arrested would be in custody and set to be arraigned in 72 hours," said Moore. "Today, that process is, with the zero-bail, that person is in and out back in the community and their next court appearance is an arraignment that's four or five months out."
Moore said homicides have gone up about 50% since 2019 and aggravated assaults have gone up about 16%.
About 200 robberies were reported just in the last week alone, according to Moore.
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"We recognize that long-standing issues in these communities have allowed this type of violence to flourish so were going to remain committed with our outreach and engagement," said Moore.
Last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the criminal justice system and judges need to scale back the zero-bail policy.
"There are people who need to be behind bars," he said. "We have opened up a lot of the city because we're in a better place with COVID. We should be able to also open up our jails and we should be able to have judges that put people behind those bars as well."
Over the past year, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has been a lightning rod for criticism. His attempts to reform the criminal justice system have sparked complaints of reduced sentences and a "light on crime" approach.
But the zero-bail policies were put into effect before Gascon even took office.
At a recent news conference, both Garcetti and Moore said Gascon's policies are not to blame here. Judges, they say, need to stop cutting repeat offenders loose.
"The vast majority of crime is committed by relatively few people," Moore said. "And when the few people are constantly gaming the system to understand its weaknesses, the system needs to protect all communities from those individuals."
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