L.A. County Sheriff: Homicides Up 95% over 2020; Will Issue More Conceal Carry Permits
3 Jun 2021
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva revealed Wednesday that homicides were up 95% this year over the same period in 2020, and said his department would issue more concealed carry permits to let citizens to defend themselves.
In an Instagram Live post, Villanueva revealed the grim numbers, as the region joined America’s ongoing crime wave:
Homicides: ⬆️ 95%
Arson: ⬆️ 22%
He says LASD will start processing more CCW permits due to “less cops, more crooks, less consequences.”
Sheriff Villanueva said LASD will not move to a shall issue standard where “anyone who can fog a mirror” gets a CCW, but LASD will be increasing staffing to process “good cause” CCW permits in recognition of increasing danger to public.
Arson: ⬆️ 22%
He says LASD will start processing more CCW permits due to “less cops, more crooks, less consequences.”
The county ended 2020 with a 36% increase overall in violent crime, Villanueva said, making the increase in violent crimes thus far in 2021 all the more striking. “All huge numbers, all very, very troublesome.” He said that the rise in crime was an “existential threat,” along with homelessness and the passage of poorly conceived criminal justice reform.
He said the crime was worst in African American and Latino communities, and criticized the county’s Board of Supervisors for failing to address the issue.
Recognizing that the threat of crime to residents was increasing, Villanueva said, the department would accelerate the issuing of “carry a concealed weapon” (CCW) permits.
Villanueva said his department has issued 904 concealed-carry permits. In other words, about one permit per day since he took office in a county with a population of more than 10 million souls.