FBI Releases Preliminary Semiannual Crime Statistics for January Through June 2010

San Diego Violent Crime Rate Drops 4.6 percent and Property Crime Drops 3.64 percent
According to the FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report released Monday, December 20, 2010, the nation experienced a 6.2 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 2.8 percent decline in the number of property crimes from January to June 2010, when compared with data from the same time period in the prior year. The report is based on information from more than 12,000 law enforcement agencies that submitted three to six comparable months of data to the FBI during the first six months of both 2009 and 2010.

Violent Crime

• From January to June 2010, all four of the offense types in the violent crime category declined nationwide when compared with data for the same time period in 2009. Robbery fell 10.7 percent, murder was down 7.1 percent, forcible rape declined 6.2 percent, and aggravated assault decreased 3.9 percent.
• Violent crime declined in all city groups, with the largest decrease, 8.3 percent, in cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 persons. Violent crime was also down in both nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties, with declines of 7.6 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.
• For the six-month comparison period, violent crime fell in all four regions of the nation: 7.8 percent in the South, 7.2 percent in both the Midwest and the West, and 0.2 percent in the Northeast. The Northeast was the only region to experience an increase in murders, 5.7 percent. Murder declined in the other three regions—12.0 percent in the South, 7.1 percent in the West, and 6.3 percent in the Midwest.

Property Crime

• Property crime was down 2.8 percent nationwide for the first six months of 2010 compared with data for the same months of 2009. Motor vehicle theft dropped 9.7 percent, larceny-theft fell 2.3 percent, and burglary decreased 1.4 percent.
• Property crime declined in all four regions, with a 3.6 percent decrease in the South, a 3.1 percent decrease in the West, a 2.5 decrease in the Midwest, and a 0.2 percent decrease in the Northeast.
• Cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants experienced a 4.8 percent drop in property crime. In nonmetropolitan counties, property crime increased 1.0 percent, but it decreased 2.4 percent in metropolitan counties.

Arson

Arson offenses, which are tracked separately from other property crimes, decreased 14.6 percent nationwide. By population group, the largest decline in the number of arson offenses (17.2 percent) was in cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 residents. Arson also fell in metropolitan counties by 21.6 percent and in nonmetropolitan counties by 19.4 percent. Law enforcement agencies in all four regions reported fewer arsons, including declines of 17.6 percent in the West, 14.3 percent in the South, 12.6 percent in the Midwest, and 10.2 percent in the Northeast.

• Violent crime in San Diego dropped 4.61 percent, and property crime declined 3.64 percent.
• Violent crime in Chula Vista dropped 10 .75 percent, while property crime increased 0.90 percent.
• Violent crime in Escondido increased 4.09 percent, and property crime increased 6.70 percent.
• Violent crime in Oceanside dropped 11.41 percent, and property crime declined 5.58 percent.

San Diego (Population 1,314,773)

Violent Crime

Reported violent crime offenses for San Diego for the first six months of 2010 compared to 2009, declined from 2,907 in 2009 to 2,773 in 2010 a decrease of 134 offenses or 4.61 percent. The changes by violent crime category are as follows;

• Murders decreased by eight (33 percent) from 24 in 2009 to 16 in 2010.
• Forcible rapes increased by two (1.25 percent) from 160 in 2009 to 162 in 2010.
• Robberies decreased by 105 (11.46 percent) from 916 in 2009 to 811 in 2010.
• Aggravated assaults decreased by 23 (1.27 percent) from 1,807 in 2009 to 1,784 in 2010.

Property Crime

• Reported property offenses for San Diego for the first six months of 2010 compared to 2009, declined from 16,325 in 2009 to 15,730 in 2010 a decrease of 595 offenses or 3.64 percent. The changes by property crime category are as follows;
• Burglaries decreased by 38 (1.2 percent) from 3,172 in 2009 to 3,134 in 2010.
• Larceny thefts increased by 52 (0.56 percent) from 9,295 in 2009 to 9,347 in 2010.
• Motor vehicle thefts decreased by 609 (15.79 percent) from 3,858 in 2009 to 3,249 in 2010.

Arson

• Arsons increased by one (1.23 percent) from 81 in 2009 to 82 in 2010.

Chula Vista (Population 224,841)

Violent Crime

Reported violent crime offenses for Chula Vista for the first six months of 2010, compared to 2009, declined from 372 in 2009 to 332 in 2010 a decrease of 40 or 10.75 percent. The changes by violent crime category are as follows;

• Murders decreased by two (100 percent) from two in 2009 to zero in 2010.
• Forcible rapes decreased by two (6.67 percent) from 30 in 2009 to 28 in 2010.
• Robberies decreased by 44 (25.73 percent) from 171 in 2009 to 127 in 2010.
• Aggravated assaults increased by eight (4.73 percent) from 169 in 2009 to 177 in 2010.

Property Crime

Reported property crime offenses for Chula Vista for the first six months of 2010, compared to 2009 increased from 2,557 in 2009 to 2,580 in 2010 an increase of 23 or 0.90 percent. The changes by property crime category are as follows;

• Burglaries decreased by 57 (12.67 percent) from 450 in 2009 to 393 in 2010.
• Larceny thefts increased by 168 (11.86percent) from 1,417 in 2009 to 1,585 in 2010.
• Motor vehicle thefts decreased by 88 (12.75 percent) from 690 in 2009 to 602 in 2010.

Arson

• Arsons decreased by four (25 percent) from 16 in 2009 to 12 in 2010.

Oceanside (Population 170,579)

Violent Crime

Reported violent crime offenses for Oceanside for the first six months of 2010, compared to 2009, declined from 368 in 2009 to 326 in 2010 a decrease of 42 or 11.41 percent. The changes by violent crime category are as follows;

• Murders remained the same with one murder reported in 2009 and 2010.
• Forcible rapes decreased by eight (27.59 percent) from 29 in 2009 to 21 in 2010.
• Robberies decreased by eight (8.16 percent) from 98 in 2009 to 90 in 2010.
• Aggravated assaults decreased by 26 (10.83 percent) from 240 in 2009 to 214 in 2010.

Property Crime

Reported property crime offenses for Oceanside for the six months of 2010, compared to 2009, declined from 2,060 in 2009 to 1,945 in 2010 a decrease of 115 or 5.58 percent. The changes by property crime category are as follows;

• Burglaries decreased by 37 (8.77 percent) from 422 in 2009 to 385 in 2010.
• Larceny thefts decreased by 18 (1.26 percent) from 1,426 in 2009 to one,408 in 2010.
• Motor vehicle thefts decreased by 60 (28.30 percent) from 212 in 2009 to 152 in 2010.

Arson

• Arsons remained the same at 15 for both years.

Escondido (Population 137,432)

Violent Crime

Reported violent crime offenses for Escondido for the first six months of 2010, compared to 2009, increased from 318 in 2009 to 331 in 2010 an increase of 13 or 4.09 percent. The changes by violent crime category are as follows;

• Murders remained unchanged at one for 2009 and one for 2010.
• Forcible rapes decreased by 11 (42 percent) from 26 in 2009 to 15 in 2010.
• Robberies decreased by 18 (15 percent) from 122 in 2009 to 104 in 2010.
• Aggravated assaults increased by 42 (25 percent) from 169 in 2009 to 211 in 2010.

Property Crime

Reported property crime offenses for Escondido for the first six months of 2010, compared to 2009, increased from 2,014 in 2009 to 2,149 in 2010 an increase of 135 or seven percent. The changes by property crime category are as follows;

• Burglaries decreased by 58 (14 percent) from 403 in 2009 to 345 in 2010.
• Larceny thefts increased by 79 (six percent) from 1,251 in 2009 to 1,330 in 2010.
• Motor vehicle thefts increased by 114 (32 percent) from 360 in 2009 to 474 in 2010.

Arson

• Arsons increased by two (22 percent) from nine in 2009 to 11 in 2010.

Because of the complexities involved, the FBI makes no attempt to interpret the data, which we leave to criminologists and sociologists. And, once again we caution against using the stats to rank cities or counties. Such rankings do not account for the many variables that impact the volume and scope of crime in specific locations.

The complete Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report is available exclusively at Uniform Crime Reports.