Lancaster-area sheriff: Part 1 crimes down about 14.7% through November 2025; robberies and some forcible offenses rose

Deputy Kit Grewpe, Lancaster Sheriff Station community relations representative, told the board that Part 1 crimes in the Lancaster area totaled 4,251 through November 2025 — 3,671 inside the city and 580 in unincorporated areas — representing an overall year‑to‑date drop of 14.72%.

Grewpe walked commissioners through category totals and recent percentage changes, reporting 16 homicides inside Lancaster and seven in unincorporated areas (23 total), 282 robberies (256 in the city, 26 in unincorporated areas), 927 aggravated assaults, 567 burglaries and 1,185 grand‑theft autos. He said larceny thefts and burglaries showed notable decreases while robberies and certain forcible offenses rose in the city.

"Part 1 crime's total was 3,671 in the city, 580 in the unincorporated area for a total of 4,251," Grewpe said, adding that "in the city, that's an 11.8% decrease," and that those figures combine to an "overall average drop" of 14.72%.

Commissioners asked whether the reported increases were limited to robbery and forcible‑offense categories; Grewpe confirmed that most other major categories are down. He declined to make direct city‑to‑city rank comparisons without analyst work, saying such comparisons must account for population and coverage area differences and noting the Lancaster station covers a very large geography and is among the busiest sheriff stations in Los Angeles County for calls for service.

Grewpe also presented traffic numbers for November 2025: four fatal crashes, 83 injury crashes, 85 non‑injury crashes, 263 citations and 26 DUI arrests. When asked, he said the citations were primarily moving violations such as speeding, cell‑phone and stop‑sign offenses.

On school safety concerns, Grewpe reported that the Antelope Valley Union High School District recorded 17 Part 1 crimes in 2025 across all school sites, which he said represented roughly 0.4% of the area's 4,251 Part 1 crimes; he said he would provide any requested school‑specific breakdowns to commissioners.

Grewpe attributed part of the improvement to cooperative work with the Lancaster Police Department, new district‑attorney practices and technology the partners are using to improve solve rates. He said he would follow up with his crime analyst to answer outstanding data requests.

The board did not take formal action on the statistics; commissioners thanked Grewpe for the report and asked for additional comparative data at a future meeting.