Captain Jorge Rodriguez of the LAPD's Newton Division said crime is down 9.5 percent in the area compared to this time last year. (José Martinez/OnCentral)
It looks like LAPD's Newton Division beat the traditional rise in summer crime this year.
In fact, when it comes to crime reduction compared to this time last year, Newton ranks second in the LAPD.
Division Captain Jorge Rodriguez said that's because police are "throwing everything and the kitchen sink" at area crime.
"It's a combination of community collaboration, of collaboration with the various organizations working in the area," he said. "It's a lot of education."
Education of the surrounding community is Newton's main priority, said Rodriguez. He mentioned property crime involving vehicles, in particular.
"People leave property [inside their car] in plain view and they're leaving their cars unlocked," said Rodriguez. "So it doesn't matter what we do if we don't have the community's assistance." Folks need to lock their cars, he said – that's "the main emphasis that needs to be drilled."
Crime is down 9.5 percent in Newton compared to last year, said Rodriguez. Violent crime is down 17.3 percent and property crimes are down 6.4 percent. The most recent homicide in Newton took place two Sundays ago near the intersection of 43rd Street and Morgan Avenue, an incident police believe is gang-related.
The captain also said Newton "did not spike" in crime, and in fact "continued to go down." During Memorial Day weekend, said Rodriguez:
– Violent crime was down 10.2 percent compared to that time last year
– Property crime was down 8 percent
– Overall crime was down 7.2 percent
Rodriguez said compared to the latest statistics that are up-to-date as Labor Day weekend, the only type of crime that's seen a bit of an increase is property crime. All crimes besides those have seen further reductions. He said it's all part of the "ebb and flow" of policing Newton Division.
He also had one more update regarding the division's relatively newfound Twitter presence.
"It's going great," Rodriguez said. "It's picking up steam. It's one those things we're making sure to publicize and market."
As of press time, @NewtonLAPD had 19 tweets and 27 followers.
