The San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, has released its annual report on regional crime rates from 2021 through 2023.
According to the report, crime continues to trend downward in all three major categories: property crimes, crimes against persons, and crimes against society. The declines were -8%, -2% and -3% respectively between 2022 and 2023. The murder rate dropped 21%, while non-consensual sexual offenses declined 9%.
Among cities, Solana Beach experienced the greatest decline in crimes against persons (-12%). The biggest increase was in Coronado (+29%) followed by Del Mar (+24%). Coronado also had the highest property crime increase (+17%), while Del Mar had the greatest decrease (-40%). Lemon Grove saw a whopping 72% increase in crimes against society, which was the highest of any jurisdiction. Crimes against society fell the most in Encinitas (-32%).
There were a few specific crimes that increased countywide last year. These include aggravated assaults (+7%) and shoplifting (+25%).
The most troubling aspect of the report involves hate crimes, which rose 39% from 2022 to 2023. Hate crimes against persons accounted for 65%.
Of the 133 hate crimes in 2023, 44% were motivated by race or ethnicity. Black people were the victims in most (52%) of racially-motivated incidents.
Read SANDAG’s full report here.