Meanwhile, federal immigration enforcement has grown bigger this summer in the Los Angeles area, calling for help to local police.
Emergency dispatch data reviewed by The Times showed weeks of large street protests in downtown Los Angeles encountered U.S. immigration and customs enforcement and other federal agencies, and in June, LAPD called for a sharp drop in service.
In a city where about one-third of the population is born, the sharp drop in appeals has increased long-term concern among advocates that active immigration enforcement can lead to domestic abuse and other unreported crimes as victims fear triggering deportation.
In the two weeks after June 6, when immigration raids began, LAPD appeals for services fell 28%, while the average number of calls per day was 1,200 fewer than last year.
LAPD officials responded to about 44,000 calls for services over a two-week range, compared with nearly 61,000 calls on the same day in June 2024.
These calls include reports of serious crimes, such as family break-ins and domestic disputes, and the public seeking help from noisy neighbors, loud parties and other routine matters.
Times analyzes data that do not contain all 911 calls – services that only LAPD calls are available, usually registered when sending a fleet car. Although multiple people may call 911 related to an event, in most cases, there is only one LAPD call service.
The decrease in LAPD calls responding to suspected domestic violence and other incidents related to family disputes was particularly noticeable, with ice activity falling 7% and 16% respectively this year, respectively. Even though the subsequent home-related calls began to gradually return to 2024 levels, calls for home events have been declining.
National experts say these findings reflect a crisis of public confidence, with other controversial events occurring. Similar slides in local police phone calls In the first Trump administrationfollowing the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, following a fatal shooting in Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri six years ago.
Even in the case of police forces being mostly Latino, its leaders reiterated the city as a shelter for immigrants, said Vida Johnson, associate law professor at Georgetown University.
“You’re going to see fear of law enforcement,” Johnson said. “This has the biggest impact on women, because women are often more likely to suffer and then be more afraid to seek help than men.”
At least some of the declines could be explained in part by LAPD’s citywide tactical alerts during the initial two-week period, which allowed the department to be ready to deploy to the frontlines of the protests at any time. During this period, departments prioritized serious crimes such as shootings and robberies, resulting in many other less urgent calls not being resolved.
But this does not explain why the department calls for service after returning to its normal operations. Although police phone levels rose again in June and early July, they still fell by about 5% compared to the same period in 2024.
Calls declines are less noticeable in nine police districts in southern South Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and the East District where Latinos make up the majority of residents, but data show that domestic violence continues to decline within weeks after the start of the immigration enforcement campaign.
Police calls for service have been slowly declining for years, a phenomenon that coincides with a decline in overall crime. LAPD chief Jim McDonnell and other leaders tried to emphasize in public remarks that local police are not allowed to enforce civil immigration laws, but only work with federal agents to arrest or calm the suspects who threaten public safety.
But Carlos Montes, a longtime Boyle Heights organizer, said in recent operations, LAPD officials stood side by side with the FBI and said seeing more Angelenos will think twice before they go.
“In general, around the corner, we don’t want to call the police because they won’t fix anything or they’ll arrest someone, beat someone or shoot someone,” he said.
LAPD Assistant Director Derman Hurtado, who is the immigration coordinator for the department, admitted to assuring the public that it was an effort to call the police safely.
“Police is also the most obvious form of government, and people now don’t trust the government,” Hertado said in an interview last month. [are] It is completely understandable to be afraid of being deported. This is something we have to deal with and find a way to heal with the community. ”
In response to what he called “negative advocacy” for his actions in recent weeks toward LAPD, he said the department is strengthening its outreach efforts in various immigrant communities and conducting a series of planned listening classes and other activities aimed at public education.
The department recently launched a civic academy to open a civic academy for Spanish speakers, with senior chief officials having been meeting with Faith and community leaders in an attempt to get them to strengthen the message that police need victims to work together to resolve crimes.
Marielle Coronel, 24, co-owner of a boxing gym in Sylmar, said she was worried about being described while out, which also made her think twice about calling the police.
Even though she thinks at least some police officers are trying to help, she says it has been disturbing in recent months. She recalls how her parents recently gave her a version of “talk”, with many parents of color talking to their children about how to deal with police. Coronel said their concerns were growing, including an unidentified masked man posing like an Icefield agent.
Her parents insist she started carrying her passport with her, and she wouldn’t put the windows on anyone unless they clearly identify themselves. Recently, she said she had listened to her gym front desk with heart.
“Even if I’m a U.S. citizen, you don’t know,” she said. “We don’t feel like we’re getting a substitute from the government.”
