San Diego County CA— As of mid-year, the region’s overall crime rate, the violent-crime rate, and the property-crime rate remained relatively stable, down 1 percent respectively, according to a report released by SANDAG today.
“The relative stability in the region’s crime rates is notable, given legislative changes enacted in recent years that have resulted in more ex-offenders returning to local communities after incarceration,” said Dr. Cynthia Burke, Director of SANDAG’s Criminal Justice Research Division. “There have been concerns that crime rates would rise drastically based on these changes, but we’re not seeing that reflected in the numbers at this point.”
The report – Crime in the San Diego Region Mid-Year 2015 Statistics – is unique because it provides the most up-to-date statistics from local law enforcement agencies compiled in one document.
Across the region, law enforcement statistics show the violent crime rate holding relatively steady, though a few categories showed slight upticks.
A total of 5,335 Part I violent crimes were reported to local police in the region between January and June 2015, an average of 29 per day. (Part I violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.)
There were four more homicides in the first half of 2015 than there were during the same period last year. So far, 43 homicides have occurred across the region, compared to 39 in 2014.
The report found domestic violence incidents up 4 percent from mid-year 2014.
It is important to note that the number of aggravated assaults tracked in this report was down 6 percent from last year – which could be related to a relatively new change in how rapes are defined under the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
The report notes that because of this expanded definition of rape, this year’s rape and overall violent crime statistics cannot be compared to previous years’ numbers.
The property crime rate dropped slightly, with the number of burglaries declining more than any other crime – by 13 percent. Residential burglaries dropped 11 percent, while non-residential burglaries fell 15 percent compared to mid-year 2014, according to the report.
A total of 30,449 property crimes were reported to local law enforcement agencies. Of these, 68 percent were larcenies, 16 percent burglaries, and 16 percent motor vehicle thefts.
The report highlights several other notable statistics, including:

• Motor vehicle thefts decreased 5 percent, down to 4,777 in 2015
• Robberies were up 1 percent from mid-year 2014
• Arsons were down 10 percent at mid-year with 195, down from the 216 recorded last year at this point.
• Larcenies were up 4 percent at mid-year, with a total of 20,651 larcenies having been committed countywide, compared to 19,941 over the same period last year.

About this report

Through a partnership with law enforcement, the SANDAG Criminal Justice Clearinghouse has been compiling and analyzing crime statistics from the 18 jurisdictions and unincorporated communities in the county since 1980. With this historical analysis, policy makers and others can track change over time and across jurisdictions to better understand how effective different law enforcement strategies are, as well as how crime patterns may be addressed or influenced.
The entire mid-year crime statistics report, with data broken down by jurisdiction, is available at sandag.org/midyear2015. An accompanying CJ Flash, which summarizes the findings in a one-page, easy-to-understand format, also is available at sandag.org/cj.

About SANDAG

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the San Diego region’s primary public planning, transportation, and research agency, providing the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and construction, environmental management, housing, open space, energy, public safety, and binational topics. SANDAG is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mayors, council members, and supervisors from each of the region’s 18 cities and the county government.
 
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