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The homicide rate in Long Beach rose last year, with 38 murders in 2024 compared to 26 in 2023, according to police data.
Last year’s tally is the highest since 2021 when the city had 39 murders, but it was only slightly above average for the past five years (35). The 26 homicides in 2023 was the lowest total since the city recorded 22 in 2017, the smallest annual number on record.
The increase this year was especially pronounced in the LBPD’s East Division — which spans from Alamitos Beach to Los Alamitos, with its northern reaches bordering Lakewood — and the North Division, which consists primarily of North Long Beach.
In the East Division, killings spiked from 2 in 2023 to 11 in 2024 — its highest total over the last decade. Two of the highest profile murders in that district happened within two weeks of each other last March on Second Street — a popular nightlife destination in Belmont Shore.
In North Division, murders doubled from 6 in 2023 to 12 in 2024.
When the Long Beach Post asked for an interview to discuss these trends, the LBPD instead responded with a written statement broadly addressing the numbers and its enforcement efforts.
“The motivations and circumstances for murder can vary significantly. Our department remains focused on reducing crime in our community through a variety of means, including proactive enforcement, gun recoveries, and providing crime prevention tips,” LBPD spokesperson Eric Stachura said in the statement. “Patrol officers and officers of the High Crime Focus Team work proactively to arrest violent offenders. Often, these investigations lead to the recovery of illegal guns, preventing them from being used in the commission of further criminal activity.”
In a recent social media post on Nextdoor, another department spokesperson highlighted officers’ recent success in taking guns off the streets.
“So far this year, officers have seized 183 firearms, compared to the 114 firearms we recovered throughout the first two months of 2024,” spokesperson Richard Mejia said in the post.
Long Beach’s five-year average for murders has remained in the mid-30s since the early 2000s.
Homicides in the city peaked in 1993 with 126 murders.
In 2024, Long Beach’s rate of 8.45 murders per 100,000 people was comparable to cities like Denver, Phoenix and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Oakland, which has a similar population size as Long Beach, had 86 homicides in 2024, down from 126 in 2023.
Other crimes that increased locally last year included commercial burglaries, which rose 55.6% citywide. The biggest spike happened in South Division, which includes Downtown Long Beach. Commercial burglaries in South Division increased 74.5% from 2023 to 2024, from 141 in 2023 to 246 in 2024.
Robberies also saw an 18.5% increase citywide, rising over the 1,100 mark for the first time since 2017.
Overall, crime rose 4.8% citywide, while violent crime rose 2.8%.
The department has not yet released any 2025 statistics.