Violent Crime Rate Down in San Diego

Despite an increase in the number of murders, San Diego's crime rate in the 2011 calendar year remained at levels not seen since the 1960s and 1970s, Mayor Jerry Sanders and police Chief William Lansdowne announced Thursday.

The violent crime rate of 3.89 per 1,000 people was the lowest since 1973, according to figures released by the San Diego Police Department at a news conference.

The overall rate, with property crimes included, was 26.54 per 100,000 residents. That is slightly above the 2010 figure, which was the lowest since 1963.

The figures show that San Diego is the safest of the 10 largest cities in the country, Sanders said.

"What we shouldn't forget, and these figures show, is the San Diego Police Department has some of the finest crime-fighting professionals in America," Sanders said.

Lansdowne credited an "interactive" relationship between his officers and the community, and an "intelligence-led policing" strategy that prevents crimes from occurring.

The number of murders in San Diego went from 29 in 2010 to 38 in 2011. Lansdowne said several high-profile murder-suicides with multiple victims accounted for the increase.

The total of 38 is still the second-lowest since 1972, according to the SDPD statistics. The city's all-time high was 167 murders in 1992, but the amount hasn't hit three digits since 1994.

In other categories:

-- the number of rapes dropped from 300 in 2010 to 293 in 2011;

-- robberies plunged from 1,636 to 1,456 ;

-- aggravated assaults decreased from 3,651 to 3,317;

-- burglaries fell from 6,387 to 5,840;

-- thefts dropped from 17,977 to 17,610;

-- vehicle thefts lowered from 6,389 to 6,259.

In some categories, the number of crimes fell, but the rate increased because of a decrease in the city's population.

-City News Service