When Pregnancy Is Possible: Crime, Safety, and Vulnerability in Los Angeles County

By L.A. Loss & Abortion Doula

The other day, I was walking in South Central Los Angeles when I passed two children on bikes. One was riding significantly slower than the other while holding a bag. The child stopped and asked the other to slow down, nervous about dropping it.

The other child looked back and said, “Hold it right. My gun is in there.”

These children looked no more than 10 years old.

I could not know their actual ages or what was inside the bag. But hearing those words from children who looked that young stayed with me.

It made me think about the environments women are navigating—and the circumstances they may be weighing when pregnancy is a possibility. For a woman already struggling with safety, housing, money, or dependable support, becoming a mother would exist alongside everything she is already trying to manage.

One encounter cannot represent an entire neighborhood. But it prompted me to look more closely at how reported crime in Los Angeles County compares with other major counties.

How Los Angeles County Compares

The following figures use 2024 offenses reported to the FBI, compiled by pumsdata. Rates are per 100,000 residents, allowing us to compare counties with different population sizes.

County	Major city	Violent-crime rate	Property-crime rate
Harris, Texas	Houston	728	2,930
Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles	580	2,038
Dallas, Texas	Dallas	478	2,883
Maricopa, Arizona	Phoenix	455	1,743
San Diego, California	San Diego	370	1,341
Cook, Illinois	Chicago	358	2,451
Miami-Dade, Florida	Miami	308	1,883

Violent crime here includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes burglary, larceny/theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Within this compilation, L.A.’s reported violent-crime rate was second-highest among these seven counties. Its reported property-crime rate was fourth-highest.

These positions require caution. The compilation assigns offenses to the county where a reporting agency is headquartered. Some agencies operate across county boundaries, and missing reports are not estimated. Differences in reporting can affect the comparisons.

These are selected large counties—not a nationwide ranking or a complete measure of safety.

Crime Includes More Than Shootings and Homicide

Conversations about crime often focus on the most severe violence. But theft and break-ins can also create serious problems for a woman with limited resources.

A stolen vehicle can mean missed work. Belongings taken from a car can mean losing identification, work equipment, or money needed for rent. A home break-in can leave someone facing replacement costs while no longer feeling secure where she sleeps.

Here is the property-crime breakdown from the same compilation. Rates are per 100,000 residents, rounded to whole numbers.

County	Burglary	Larceny/theft	Motor vehicle theft
Harris	426	2,011	492
Dallas	385	1,717	781
Cook	286	1,641	524
Miami-Dade	143	1,521	219
Maricopa	211	1,275	257
Los Angeles	387	1,222	429
San Diego	172	870	300

Larceny/theft includes shoplifting and theft of belongings from vehicles. Motor vehicle theft means the vehicle itself is stolen. A broken car window with nothing taken may be classified as vandalism and fall outside these totals.

Separate, comparable countywide shoplifting and car break-in rates were not verified for this article. The broad theft category includes those offenses but does not establish which county has the highest rate of either one individually.

When There Is Little Room for Another Emergency

The consequences of a crime depend partly on what resources someone has afterward.

A woman with savings, insurance, flexible employment, and dependable support may have ways to recover from a theft. A woman already struggling to cover basic expenses may face difficult choices over the same loss.

If pregnancy occurs, she may also need to think about transportation to appointments, time away from work, a safe place to recover, and—if she chooses parenting—the ongoing needs of a child.

These are practical concerns a woman deserves to consider honestly. A promise that “everything will work out” does not tell her who will provide transportation, replace lost income, or help her find safer housing.

A County Average Cannot Describe a Woman’s Home

Los Angeles County contains communities with very different conditions. A countywide rate cannot tell us what happens on a particular block or whether a woman feels safe in her own household.

It also cannot tell us whether she can freely say no to sex, make decisions about pregnancy prevention, or discuss a possible pregnancy without fear of someone’s reaction.

For a woman in a vulnerable position who could become pregnant, questions about safety may be immediate and personal:

Do I feel safe where I live?
Can I make decisions about sex and pregnancy freely?
Is the man involved dependable in ways I have already seen?
Who could help if I lost transportation, income, or housing?
Would the support being promised actually be available?
Do I want a pregnancy under my current circumstances?

A county’s numbers cannot answer those questions for her.

Women Deserve Room to Consider Their Circumstances

Living in a community affected by crime does not determine whether a woman should become a mother. Financial hardship does not take away her ability to love or raise a child.

But she also does not have to ignore the conditions of her life when considering whether she wants to become pregnant or continue a pregnancy.

A woman may want children someday and recognize that she does not want a pregnancy now. She may already have children and understand what another child would require. She may not want motherhood at all.

She deserves accurate information and the freedom to consider her options without being pressured to minimize her concerns.

These crime statistics do not establish that abortion access causes or prevents crime. They do not predict what would happen to a particular woman or child. Their purpose here is to provide context for a conversation about the circumstances women are navigating.

What Stayed With Me

What stayed with me about those children was how young they appeared—and how casually the words were spoken.

I do not know their story. I do not know whether there was a gun in that bag. That uncertainty matters.

But the encounter made me think about what safety means in everyday life, especially for women who already feel vulnerable and may face the possibility of pregnancy.

Women deserve more than reassurance about a future no one can guarantee. They deserve to have their present circumstances taken seriously: where they live, what they can afford, who they can trust, and what they want for themselves.

Sources and Methodology

Crime figures come from 2024 FBI Return A records, compiled by pumsdata. County assignment is based on agency headquarters, and missing reporting is not estimated. Rates reflect reported offenses, not all crimes that occurred.

Detailed property-crime rates were calculated by dividing reported offenses by the compilation’s county population and multiplying by 100,000.

Different reporting systems can produce different totals. For example, the compilation records 56,573 violent crimes for L.A. County in 2024, while the California-sourced countywide series published by the Los Angeles Almanac lists 58,141. These totals should not be treated as interchangeable.