LAPD chief says more homicides are being solved amid a record decline in killings

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Los Angeles police solved more than two thirds of all homicides citywide in 2025, a year that ended with the fewest number of slayings in six decades, according to statistics presented by local authorities on Thursday.Of the 230 homicides logged in areas patrolled by the LAPD, officials said that 156, or 68%, were considered solved.By the department’s definition, a homicide can be “cleared” through an arrest or other factors, including if the killing was deemed legally justified or the suspect dies.

Whether the case results in criminal charges or a conviction is not part of the department’s methodology.Factoring in the 78 homicides from past years that were solved in 2025, the clearance rate rose to 101%, officials said.LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the department’s success in solving homicides was the result of more data-driven actions against the relatively small number of individuals responsible for an outsize proportion of violent crimes, as well as collaboration with federal law enforcement and other agencies.McDonnell pointed to an 8% reduction in the number of gunshot victims citywide, a decline he attributed to a significant increase in the number of guns seized by police.

In 2025, LAPD officials recovered 8,650 firearms, 1,000 more than the previous year, he said.Gang killings still account for most of the city’s homicides, but are far below where they were in years past, officials said.The chief said police need to remain diligent since “every life lost was one too many.” The trends for other categories of violent crime were a “mixed bag,” he said, and concerns about property crimes such as burglary and vehicle thefts remain ongoing.He said that the declining numbers were proof that a depleted department, stretched thin by low recruitment numbers and recent protests and wildfires, was still performing admirably.

At the same time, he acknowledged t...