Crime and punishment

Re “Crime drops in L.A., defying experts,” April 1

Crime experts are at a loss to explain the decline in crime rates in Los Angeles over the last six years, except to suggest that the LAPD’s “community-based relationships” appear to be doing the trick.

Forgive me for using common sense, but couldn’t our state’s more stringent punishments for serious crimes and repeat offenders be keeping more bad guys in prison and deterring others?

Lawrence Daniels

Manhattan Beach