CRIME INCREASES STATEWIDE FOR FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Crime increased in California 3.5 percent last year, the state's first increase in eight years, according to preliminary statistics released Tuesday by the state attorney general.

Violent crimes increased 7.2 percent in the city of Los Angeles in 2000, fueled by a 27.5 percent increase in homicides, according to the report based on revised figures from previously reported statistics compiled by local law enforcement offices. When burglary and vehicle theft are added in, the city's total crime rate spiked 12.1 percent in 2000 from 1999.

Many nearby cities, including Glendale, Lancaster, Palmdale and Thousand Oaks, also showed increases in violent crimes.

``There's been a tremendous amount of investment in ... building new prisons and ... stiffening penalties for a wide variety of crimes - and not enough investment in getting the resources and tools to law enforcement to solve more crimes,'' said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

Lockyer called for expanding the use of DNA evidence to solve crimes and early intervention efforts with children.

``We just have to do a better job in catching them before they've committed a fifth crime,'' said Barankin.

The California Crime Index measures property crimes of burglary and motor vehicle theft as well as violent crimes of homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Lockyer's staff reported a 3.9 percent increase in homicides, a 6.6 percent increase in forcible rape, a 0.9 percent increase in robbery, a 1.8 percent increase in aggravated assault, a 0.9 percent increase in burglary and an 8.9 percent increase in motor vehicle theft statewide.

In Los Angeles, the crime spike reported earlier this year by the Los Angeles Police Department was attributed to various factors - from lack of full staffing to low morale stemming from the Rampart corruption scandal.

The department reported a 27.5 percent increase in homicides, a 13.3 percent increase in forcible rape, a 7.7 percent increase in robbery and a 6.5 percent increase in aggravated assault.

Property crimes also increased, with a 13.5 percent rise in burglary and 20.1 percent rise in motor vehicle theft.

LAPD Lt. Horace Frank said the department's ability to fight crime was hampered by being 900 officers short and by needing to spend time training for the Democratic National Convention, not by poor morale as some have suggested.

Frank said officials hope strategies invoked at the end of 2000 will reverse

the increase.

``This year we're continuing to see that trend go downward,'' he said.

Many other regions also reported increases in violent crimes last year. Glendale saw a 37.2 percent increase and Thousand Oaks, 17.3 percent. Violence rose 5.4 percent in Lancaster and 2.8 percent in Palmdale.

Violent crimes decreased by 4.5 percent in Burbank, but there was 17.8 percent more property crime, including a 43.4 percent increase in burglary.

The state report shows a hefty 31.4 percent drop in violent crimes in Santa Clarita - where officials said they changed their way of reporting domestic assaults to be in line with the method used in other reporting jurisdictions.

CRIME STATISTICS

Crime increased statewide last year, with 3.5 percent more offenses reported in 2000 than in 1999.

Increases were reported in these categories:

--Homicide: 3.9 percent

--Forcible rape: 6.6 percent

--Robbery: 0.9 percent

--Aggravated assault: 1.8 percent

--Burglary: 0.9 percent

--Motor vehicle theft: 8.9 percent

CAPTION(S):

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Box: CRIME STATISTICS (See text)