Well, yes, and that's partly my point. It is more about the percent of illegal aliens in the population than about how urbanized an area may be. As the crime statistics poster pointed out, Los Angeles is actually
lower in many major crime statistics (save auto thefts) than cities like Dallas, Philadelphia and even Pittsburgh.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be at least partly due more to a dependence on the automobile and the famous LA traffic gridlock which makes a quick getaway after the crime more chancey.