L.A. CRIME WAVE? 2001 INCREASE IN MAJOR LOCAL OFFENSES TWICE THAT OF ENTIRE NATION.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Crime across the U.S. rose last year for the first time in a decade while Los Angeles suffered even bigger spikes in homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults, according to an FBI report released Monday.

Based on previously reported figures provided by local law enforcement agencies, the FBI said homicides in Los Angeles increased nearly 7 percent in 2001 compared with the previous year, while robberies jumped 10 percent and aggravated assaults bumped up 1 percent - all more than twice the nationwide increases in those categories.

The LAPD said problems within the department helped fuel the spike last year, though criminologists and others pointed to an increase in drug use, the economic recession and the baby boomerang of youngsters hitting their crime-prone years.

``(A) little spike in the crime rate is not a trend,'' said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Officer Jason Lee. ``Hopefully, with the new chief in place and the mayor boosting recruitment with officer morale, it'll go down.''

Lee said Los Angeles has enjoyed a steady decline in crime over the past decade despite the increases logged in 2001, a trend reflected nationwide in the FBI's account.

After 1,092 homicides were reported in 1992 - the year of the Los Angeles riots - the number of killings in Los Angeles began a steady decline. But they ticked up in 2001, with the city reporting 588 homicides, nearly 7 percent more than the 550 reported in 2000, according to the FBI report.

The new statistics also showed that robberies in Los Angeles shot up 10 percent in 2001, compared with 3.7 percent nationwide; and assaults were up 1.1 percent, compared with a nationwide drop of 0.5 percent.

Nationwide, crime increased 2.1 percent, the first year-to-year rise since 1991, the report said. However, overall crime was still down 10.2 percent from five years earlier and 17 percent from a decade ago.

The report chronicled four violent crimes - murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault - as well as three property crimes - burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft.

Patricia O'Donnell Brummett, an associate professor of sociology and criminology at California State University, Northridge, said the age and economics of the offender have to be part of the equation.

She pointed to an increase in the number of baby-boomers' children - so called boomerang youngsters - ages 15-25, a time when criminal behavior traditionally has become more violent.

``Age has a phenomenal impact on crime stats like this,'' Brummett said.

She also pointed to the recession, which can breed more violent criminal behavior as jobs disappear, prices rise and frustrations grow.

Still, O'Donnell Brummett said, she was surprised that the aftermath of Sept. 11 didn't keep crime rates lower. ``We did see a decrease in crime (right after the terrorist attacks) - I thought that might have affected the whole year.''

Across the region, small cities also saw their crime statistics spike.

Simi Valley, which frequently earns the unofficial title as the nation's safest big city, saw a 3.7 percent increase in overall crime, fueled primarily by a shooting spree at a local home that killed three people and wounded one.

``Unfortunately, it was a single incident,'' said Simi Valley Police Department crime analyst Debra Ruud.

Santa Clarita, another traditionally safe city, posted 3,161 crimes, compared with 2,681 the previous year, including a 40 percent rise in motor vehicle thefts - a trend also reported in Simi Valley and in communities around the San Fernando Valley.

Deputy Chief Ronald W. Bergmann, the Valley's highest-ranking officer, said the area's vehicle theft rate is growing this year by 10 percent - a problem his officers are tackling with arrests that are already up 33 percent.

In San Fernando, the police chief said he believes a rise in drug use, particularly methamphetamine, is partly behind the 24 percent spike in his city.

``I'd have to credit it to the proliferation of the use of narcotics,'' said Chief Anthony Alba, who took over in the spring. ``I just have a sense from some of the arrests we've had that the use of drugs is up again.''

Bergmann said the Valley saw a rise in gang activity beginning in mid- 2001 - a problem that continues to plague the area. Still, he noted that Valley crime is lower today than it's been in 15 years.

``Crime stats have always been cyclical, and a lot of it we probably don't have a lot to do with it,'' Bergmann said.

Bucking the rising crime rate nationwide, three local cities - Glendale, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark - posted declines for 2001.

Glendale Police Department Chief Russell Siverling, whose city showed the largest decline at 8 percent, said crime has dipped in his city since the 1990s, when as many as 9,000 crimes a year were committed compared with 4,400 today.

He said he watches trends in other cities and knows his area can't always be immune. Earlier this year, for instance, his city was hit with a rash of shootings and assaults.

``You'll see a crime wave go from city to city to city. Unfortunately, it catches up with all of us. We're all dealing with the same issues.''

In Thousand Oaks, officials point to involved residents who help keep streets safe by reporting crimes.

Still, the LAPD said changes going on in the department will push crime back down.

``We have a new chief (William Bratton), new ideas, more officers - all of that is going to come up with lower crime rates,'' said Lee, the LAPD spokesman.

But Brummett said the LAPD's reforms will take time.

``I wouldn't be so optimistic yet,'' she said. ``To take a culture, a subculture like the Police Department, really takes some time.''

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SOURCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation