The crime reported in the city of San Diego fell 1.5% last year, marking the third year in the rank in which the overall crime number decreased, according to figures published Tuesday by the San Diego police department.
San Diego’s police chief Scott Wahl praised the decrease in a press release as “an achievement that reflects the dedication of our officers, the strength of our community partnerships and the strategic use of technology”.
The drop in global crime in 2024 comes after a decrease of 2.7% in 2023 and a decrease of 7.5% in 2022.
The decrease was led by a 4.7% drop in real estate crimes. Vehicle flights have decreased by almost 20%, while vehicle flights and flights have both decreased by more than 10%.
Crimes against people, including homicides and attacks, decreased 1.1% overall. The city saw 46 homicides in 2024 against 59 the previous year, and 714 sexual assaults compared to 801 the previous year.
The serious aggressions remained mainly stable, lowering 1% from one year to the next.
The ministry said that reports on hate crimes have dropped by 9%.
Despite the overall decrease, last year experienced an increase in crimes, including an increase of 11.7% of theft and an increase in kidnappings / kidnappings, from 222 in 2023 to 260 in 2024.
In addition, crimes against society, which include drug offenses, vagueness and vagrancy, increased by 8.2%. The increase was driven almost exclusively by drug violations, which increased by almost 20% from 5,880 in 2023 to 7,043 in 2024.
In a press release, the ministry noted “that the increase in crimes against society is often correlated with increased application efforts, not necessarily an increase in criminal behavior”.
The press release comes as mayor Todd Gloria in his draft budget for 2025-2026, which seeks to close a planned deficit of $ 258 million, proposes to close the northwest division station of the department in Carmel Valley.
Wahl said this decision would not affect the number of officers who patrol in the region.
During a joint press conference with Wahl held on Tuesday morning, Gloria praised the figures.
“My work n ° 1 as mayor is to keep the public safe,” he said. “Even in a era of austerity, ensuring that our officers have the resources they need to protect the public and fight against crime is absolutely essential.”
“(In) the draft budget which is currently being examined by the municipal council and was released last week, we found operational efficiency gains which will allow us to keep more officers on patrol the coming year,” he added.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
