Latest FBI Crime Stats for California
Do you wonder if your city is safe, or if a city you plan to visit in California this year is a safe bet? The latest FBI crime statistics released in December 2013 provide information worth a look. How is California doing after its realignment and early release of 30,000 prisoners due to federal mandates for less crowding in our prisons? Last year while the national average of violent crimes (murder, rape, aggravated assault) saw a small uptick of around 0.7%, California experienced a 3.9% increase in incidents of violent crime and a corresponding 2.9% increase in the violent crime rate. Incidents of property crime have increased by 7.8%.
Top tourist destinations 100,000 – 200,000 population:
- Temecula (wine & casino) – 0 murders, below average in violent and other crimes
- Berkeley (UC Berkeley) – 5 murders, higher than average rapes, highest grand larceny theft in category
- Carlsbad (Legoland) – 2 murders, below average crime except rape which is average
- Fairfield (Jelly Belly) – 8 murders, near average in most crimes, below average arson
- Huntington Beach (beaches) – 3 murders, below or near average most crimes, higher than average property crimes, grand larceny theft and arson
- Santa Rosa (Sonoma wine country) – 2 murders, highest number of rapes, above average crime rate for aggravated assault and violent crimes, below average other crimes
Among population 100,000 – 200,000 cities with no murders:
- Glendale – below average in every category of crime, and 0 murders
- Thousand Oaks – below average in every category except arson (average), and 0 murders
- Santa Clara – below average in nearly every category except property crime, and 0 murders
- Concord – low in violent categories, no murders, above average in theft and burglary
- Daly City – low in every category except arson, no murders
- Fullerton – 0 murders, low in many categories, but higher in rape and larceny
- Santa Maria – 0 murders, much higher than average for violent crimes & aggravated assault, average for other crimes
Worst crime 100,000 – 200,000 population:
- Salinas – 21 murders; 1,027 violent crimes (474 is average); more than double the average of robberies, rapes and car thefts, and higher than average crime in every category
- Richmond – 18 murders, nearly double the average for every crime except grand larceny theft, and nearly triple the average for auto theft with 1,866 stolen vehicles reported
- Pomona – 17 murders, more than double the average of violent crimes, rapes, robberies and vehicle thefts
- Vallejo – 14 murders, more than triple the average of burglaries, car thefts and arson, above average for most other crimes
- Antioch – 10 murders and highest rank for violent crimes and aggravated assault, higher crime rate in nearly every category
- Norwalk – 11 murders, average or below average for most crimes except higher than average for auto theft
