LA County Sheriff's Lancaster unit reports mixed crime trends; Part 1 crimes down about 10% year‑to‑date

Sergeant Almanza, community relations sergeant at the Lancaster Sheriff's Department, briefed the Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission on year‑to‑date crime figures and trends.

Almanza reported three homicides year‑to‑date compared with two at the same point last year. Forcible rape incidents were 20 year‑to‑date, up from five in the prior year period; he noted the small baseline makes the percentage increase appear large. Robbery was reported at 44 incidents; aggravated assault at 137; burglary at 98; larceny/theft at 180; grand theft at 253 (no change compared with last year); and arson at seven (up from four). "Part 1 crimes total is 742, which is a overall decrease of 10%, 10.71%," Almanza said.

Almanza attributed some decreases to prosecutorial and enforcement changes. He described coordination with the district attorney's office and local enforcement tactics, including night operations by specialized teams, as drivers of reductions in certain categories. "Some of it is our enforcement efforts and patrol," he said, adding the LandCap team's night operations contributed to reduced armed robberies in Lancaster.

Almanza also said retail theft shows declines and that a single location accounted for a disproportionate share of incidents in February: one shoe store on Avenue K accounted for about 43% of retail theft at one location in that month. He thanked deputies for their work and answered commissioners' questions about prosecution and custody practices.

No formal action was taken on these statistics; the report was informational.