Report of the 2003 New Year’s Eve Gunfire Reduction Efforts

"Report of the 2003 New Year’s Eve Gunfire Reduction Efforts"
 
Los Angeles: Over the past several years, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) have teamed up to take the lead in addressing the issue of celebratory gunfire that traditionally occurs as part of the New Year’s celebration. In partnership with the LASD and the Los Angeles Unified School District, the LAPD embarked on Gunfire Reduction Campaign, consisting of educating the public and employing the strategy of targeted enforcement. The 2003 Gunfire Reduction Campaign appears to have been a success. There was a decrease in "shots fired" related calls this year over last year and the number of arrests made for indiscriminate gunfire decreased as well. Additionally, in the City of Los Angeles, only one injury was reported. The victim was struck in the hand as a result of celebratory gunfire activity.
In 2003, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. on New Years Eve and 6:00 a.m. on New Years Day, 365 shots fired-related calls were reported in the City of Los Angeles. In 2002, that number was 519. For the years 2001 and 2000, those numbers were 393 and 500, respectively. In terms of the number of arrests made for indiscriminate gunfire (Penal Code Section 246.3), for the period encompassing the 2003 New Year’s Eve celebration that number is 16; compared to 26 arrests in the year 2002, 11 arrests in 2001 and 8 arrests in 2000.
For the 2003 period, 10 arrests were made for other gun-related charges and 17 guns were seized by Department personnel. For the 2002 period, there were 15 arrests for other gun-related charges and 25 guns were seized; for the 2001 period, 12 arrests for other gun-related charges and 33 guns seized; and for the 2000 period, 12 arrests for other gun-related charges and 22 guns seized.
On a side note, it was reported that at about 12:10 a.m., in the area ofcccc, a bullet struck the front hood of an unoccupied black and white police vehicle. There were no injuries reported and no suspect(s) were observed.
This news advisory was prepared by Public Information Officer Lucy Diaz, Media Relations Office, at 213-485-3586.