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L.A.'s Homicide Rate Up For 1st Time In 5 Years

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Mar 6, 2008 8:28 am US/Pacific

L.A.'s Homicide Rate Up For 1st Time In 5 Years

LOS ANGELES Homicides in Los Angeles have sharply increased in the first two months of 2008, reversing nearly five years of decline, it was reported Thursday.

The 74 killings mark a 27 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Several of the deaths occurred during domestic fights or similar incidents that have no common factor linking them, police said.

Although the homicide rate is on the rise, there has been a 5.1 percent decline in violent crime overall that includes a more than two percent drop in rapes and aggravated assaults, as well as a 25 percent drop in gang-related homicides, The Times reported.

Authorities say some of the increase in Los Angeles can be attributed to incidents involving multiple victims.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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