San Diego Crime Rate Drops For Second Consecutive Year
The San Diego crime rate fell for the second consecutive row in a row, making America’s Finest City an even safer place to live and visit.
On Tuesday, the San Diego Police Department and the City of San Diego announced the crime rate drop at a press conference. During the event, both organizations also applauded the efforts of local police in keeping crime rates down.
Annually, all crimes across San Diego dropped by 3% in 2023. As mentioned, this marks the second straight year that crime rates fell.
City officials credited the drop to gun seizures and large-scale policing operations. They hailed these types of strategies as successful because, as Police Chief David Nisleit points out, “San Diego remains one of the safest large cities in America year after year despite continued staffing shortages.”
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, last year was different for one key reason: it marked the first time that the San Diego Police Department release crime statistics using the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Here are some year-over-year changes.
- Robbery is down 6.5%
- Arson is down 21.3%
- Burglary is down 16%
- Murder is down 13.5%
- Sexual assault is down 16.2%
- Weapons violations are down 11.1%
- Alcohol violations are down 13.7%
There were a couple of exceptions to the decrease in the San Diego crime rate. For example, drug violations rose by 9.8% between 2022 and 2023. Vehicle theft also crept up by 3.4% year-over-year.
More drastically, hate crimes increased by 75% between 2022 and 2023. The San Diego Police Department said that more than a third of hate crimes committed last year were racially motivated, while about 30% were motivated by sexual orientation.
Despite these increases, San Diego remains one of the safest metropolitan areas in the country. So, if you’re asking, “Is San Diego safe?” — the answer is a resounding yes.
Media credit: Image licensed from Adobe
Mike Peterson is a writer, editor, and strategist based in San Diego. When he’s not writing and editing the La Jolla news, you can often find him practicing yoga, rock climbing, or exploring the outdoors with his wife and dog.
