Criminals are just better than the rest of us. While more people than ever are eschewing masks and defying other COVID-19 diktats from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, criminals seem to be leading the way in compliance.
A stunning increase in the number of crimes committed in Los Angeles shows criminals of every variety are just doing their coronavirus-duty by wearing masks while they knock over the local 7-11 or perform strong-arm robberies.
'Shocking' pic.twitter.com/RyW3zkXH1R
— Victoria Taft – Parler, Minds, Facebook, 5VTShow (@VictoriaTaft) November 24, 2020
USC’s Crosstown Initiative reports that crimes involving criminals who are wearing masks have shot up like a bolt of lightning – up nearly 500% – between January and October.
From Jan. 1-Oct. 31, there were 1,164 criminal incidents in which a suspect was wearing a mask, according to Los Angeles Police Department data. During the same time period last year … there were just 200 reports.
Though not everyone has been complying with the order, a good number of crime suspects apparently have been. The sharp rise in mask-wearing suspects comes as overall crime has fallen by 10%. Robbery and burglary–two categories commonly associated with mask-wearing perpetrators–decreased by 15% and 12%, respectively.
To clarify, the “overall crime rate has fallen,” at least partially and maybe entirely, because many felonies in California have been redefined as misdemeanors and other criminal activities don’t make it into the statistics reflecting serious crimes anymore. The good news is, whatever crimes these criminals commit are being committed while wearing a mask.
This fellow was accused of the attempted murder of a police officer.
ATTEMPTED MURDER OF AN OFFICER: A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting a Hemet police officer, who was wounded in the knee. Police say a handgun was recovered from his vehicle. https://t.co/waIs4vcO3r pic.twitter.com/mnZXtPTOmz
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) November 23, 2020
And these gentlemen were doing their duty and masking up while knocking off a store with a gun.
A new report has found that masked crimes in Los Angeles have spiked by close to 500% during the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/4tW7clitpp
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) November 23, 2020
Indeed, the non-profit center at USC reports that some of LA’s toniest and most vibrant neighborhoods, which had nearly zero masked crimes in the past, saw huge increases.
According to the LAPD, 27% of incidents involved some type of burglary, while robbery or attempted robbery accounted for 22% of the reports. Nearly 11% involved assault, including with a deadly weapon.
Every neighborhood on our top 10 list in Los Angeles has seen an increase. That includes Hollywood, which did not have a report of a mask-wearing suspect in the first 10 months of last year. This year, the police recorded 27 incidents in the neighborhood.
The Westlake neighborhood had the greatest number of mask-wearing suspects, with 61; that marks a 1,933% increase from last year when there were only three reports. Koreatown had 59 reports, up from five during the same time last year.
But the center says that because of COVID, criminals, to a large degree, have now thrown over what used to be a staple of bad guys everywhere. There’s been a significant drop in the number of criminals using balaclavas – ski masks – in favor of masks that make them look less out of place, such as antifa- and gang-inspired scarves over their faces.
Crimes where a suspect wore a mask should not be confused with suspects who wore a ski mask (the LAPD has a separate identifier for them). During the first 10 months of the year, there were 62 reported cases of a suspect wearing a ski mask, down from the 87 incidents during the same time last year. The LAPD does not yet have a category for “suspect refused to wear a mask.”
And the trend will likely continue considering that Governor-Mask-Between-Bites has mandated Californians to wear masks outside.
Victoria Taft is the host of “The Adult in the Room Podcast With Victoria Taft” where you can hear her series on “Antifa Versus Mike Strickland.” Find it here.Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, MeWe, Minds @VictoriaTaft
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