The murder rate in Los Angeles’ Skid Row is alarmingly high, standing at 17 times the citywide average, according to a recent analysis by LAist and The LA Local.
Since 2015, at least 278 unhoused individuals have been shot and killed in the city, with additional victims identified in 2024 and 2025 by the L.A. County Medical Examiner. The violence is largely concentrated around homeless encampments in Skid Row, which housed 0.4% of L.A.’s population in 2024 but accounted for 7% of its homicides.
The debate over whether clearing these encampments would reduce violence is ongoing. Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate from San Francisco, argues that encampments destabilize cities by driving away businesses. However, Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, believes criminalizing encampments merely pushes people into the shadows, increasing their vulnerability to violence…