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Crime

Contra Costa County Crime

 

       
City Population Violent Crimes Homicides
Antioch 100,702 875 8
Brentwood 52,741 128 0
Clayton 11,217 8 0
Concord 120,679 425 6
Danville 40,874 26 0
El Cerrito 22,116 132 0
Hercules 25,214 75 0
Lafayette 24,865 23 0
Martinez 34,985 105 3
Moraga 16,956 6 0
Oakley 31,036 77 0
Orinda 18,350 6 0
Pinole 18,643 152 4
Pittsburg 63,227 204 3
Pleasant Hill 32,664 115 0
Richmond 101,680 1,093 27
San Pablo 30,736 323 7
San Ramon 49,457 54 1
Walnut Creek 63,122 144 1
County Unincorporated NA NA NA
Total NA NA NA
Source: Annual report and population from FBI, 2008 data. Homicides include murders and non-negligent manslaughter. Violent crime includes homicides, rapes, assaults and robberies.
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Every neighborhood and city in this country suffers from some crime. Even communities surrounded by gates and patrolled by guards will see family violence or pilfering by visitors.

So the question to ask when shopping for a home or apartment is not: Is this neighborhood safe? But rather, how safe is it compared to other places?

In California and elsewhere, crime often follows demographics: High-income neighborhoods generally have low crime, middle-income places middling crime, and low-income towns and neighborhoods high crime.

Generally — many exceptions. There are many low-income towns in California that have little crime.

In Contra Costa, Richmond for decades has struggled with high crime in some of its low-income neighborhoods.

Obviously, the city still has problems. In 2006, the city council hired a new police chief and replaced almost its entire administrative staff. Residents are asking for more programs to keep the kids out of mischief.

The city is vowing to bring down crime. We will see the results in 2007.

To be fair to Richmond, a sprawling and diverse city, it has many neighborhoods where the crime runs to suburban average.

As for the other cities in the county, crime is low but some cities want it even lower.

In 2006, some Antioch residents implored the city council to hire more cops and do more to control rowdy teenagers. The council directed its staff to step up hiring efforts.

Pinole, responding to the shooting deaths of two young men, voted in 2006 to raise taxes and hire more cops and install surveillance equipment.

In 2006, Lafayette turned down a cop tax but about 60 percent of voters favored measure. It required two-thirds approval.

In 2005, Contra Costa recorded 81 homicides. In 2004, the count was 76 and the previous year 74.

Suggestions:

Take a look at the academic rankings of the neighborhood school. Very low rankings indicate that many children are failing, that the dropout rate is probably high, that the young people will have difficulty finding jobs — conditions that sometimes breed crime.

In middle-scoring towns, the failures are fewer. In higher-scoring towns, fewer still.

Drive the neighborhood. The signs of trouble are often easily read: men idling around the liquor store, bars on many windows, security doors in wide use.

Should you avoid unsafe or marginal neighborhoods?

For some people, the answer depends on trade-offs and personal circumstances. The troubled neighborhoods often carry low prices or rents and are located near job centers. Many towns and sections are in transition; conditions could improve, the investment might be worthwhile. What’s intolerable to a parent might be acceptable to a single person.

In West Contra Costa, some of the new tracts incorporate security devices and designs, such as high walls.

Trade-offs also apply when choosing really safe neighborhoods.

If you don’t have the bucks, you can still buy safe but you may have to settle for a smaller house. Or the equivalent of Wyoming. The state is quite safe — 14 homicides in 2005 — the FBI reported — but when the temperatures drop to 40 below, the sunny but less-safe places may seem a better choice.

Whatever your neighborhood, don’t make it easy for predators. Lock your doors, join the neighborhood watches, school your children in safety, take extra precautions when they are called for.

California Crime 

Of the 2,503 homicides in 2005 in California, 1,845 were shot to death, the FBI reported.

Of the 1,845, handguns accounted for 1,493 deaths, rifles 83, shotguns 76 and other firearms 193. Knives were used in 288 homicides, other weapons in 237 and hands and fists in 133.

Megan's Law

For a list of registered sex offenders by town or city, go to www.meganslaw.ca.gov

Guns

Many Americans oppose gun control but guns are used in many homicides and assaults.

In 2000, France, about 54 million people, counted 503 murders. In 2002, the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), 58 million residents, recorded 513 murders. This works out to about nine murders for every million people.

In the U.S., population about 300 million, homicides in 2005 totaled 16,692 or about 56 murders for every million people. Guns accounted for at least 10,100 deaths, and of these handguns shot 7,543 of the victims. (And compared to 10 or 15 years ago, murders and crime are way down. In 1993, the U.S. recorded 24,526 homicides.)

       
Crime By California Cities
       
City Population Violent Crimes* Homicides
Anaheim 333,746 1,312 11
Bakersfield 326,046 2,077 25
Beverly Hills 34,684 126 2
Fresno 475,723 2,782 40
Long Beach 467,055 3,158 40
Los Angeles 3,850,920 26,553 384
Oakland 401,587 7,905 115
Sacramento 467,065 4,660 49
San Francisco 798,144 6,744 98
San Diego 1,271,655 6,047 55
San Jose 945,197 3,643 31
Santa Barbara 85,791 492 2

Source: FBI 2008 Figures. *Violent crime rate is number of incidents per 100,000 residents.

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Crime By State
         
States Population Homicides Violent Crimes Rate*
Alabama 4,661,900 353 21,111 453
Alaska 686,293 28 4,474 652
Arizona 6,500,180 407 29,059 447
Arkansas 2,855,390 162 14,374 503
California 36,756,666 2,142 185,173 504
Colorado 4,939,456 157 16,946 343
Connecticut 3,501,252 123 10,427 298
Delaware 873,092 57 6,141 703
Florida 18,328,340 1,168 126,265 689
Georgia 9,685,744 636 46,384 479
Hawaii 1,288,198 25 3,512 273
Idaho 1,523,816 23 3,483 229
Illinois 12,901,563 790 67,780 525
Indiana 6,376,792 327 21,283 334
Iowa 3,002,555 76 8,520 284
Kansas 2,802,134 113 11,505 411
Kentucky 4,269,245 198 12,646 296
Louisiana 4,410,796 527 28,944 656
Maine 1,316,456 31 1,547 118
Maryland 5,633,597 493 35,393 628
Massachusetts 6,497,967 167 29,174 449
Michigan 10,003,422 542 50,166 502
Minnesota 5,220,393 109 13,717 263
Mississippi 2,938,618 237 8,373 285
Missouri 5,911,605 455 29,819 504
Montana 967,440 23 2,497 258
Nebraska 1,783,432 68 5,416 304
Nevada 2,600,167 163 18,837 725
New Hampshire 1,315,809 13 2,069 157
New Jersey 8,682,661 376 28,351 327
New Mexico 1,984,356 142 12,896 650
New York 19,490,297 836 77,585 398
North Carolina 9,222,414 604 43,099 467
North Dakota 641,481 3 1,068 167
Ohio 11,485,910 543 39,997 348
Oklahoma 3,642,361 212 19,184 527
Oregon 3,790,060 82 9,747 257
Pennsylvania 12,448,279 701 51,036 410
Rhode Island 1,050,788 29 2,621 249
South Carolina 4,479,800 305 32,691 730
South Dakota 804,194 26 1,620 201
Tennessee 6,214,888 408 44,897 722
Texas 24,326,974 1,374 123,564 508
Utah 2,736,424 39 6,070 222
Vermont 621,270 17 844 136
Virginia 7,769,089 368 19,882 256
Washington 6,549,224 192 21,691 331
West Virginia 1,814,468 60 4,968 274
Wisconsin 5,627,967 146 15,421 274
Wyoming 532,668 10 1,236 232
Washington D.C. 591,833 186 8,509 1,438

Source: FBI 2008 Figures. *Violent crime rate is number of incidents per 100,000 residents.

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Crime in Other Cities Nationwide
       
City Population Violent Crimes* Homicides
Anchorage 280,068 2,647 10
Atlanta, GA 533,016 7,403 105
Austin, Texas 753,535 3,935 23
Birmingham 228,314 3,249 82
Boise, Idaho 203,770 551 1
Boston 604,465 6,676 62
Chicago 2,829,304 NA 510
Cleveland, OH 433,452 6,193 102
Dallas 1,276,214 11,420 170
Denver 592,881 3,361 40
Hartford, Conn. 124,610 1,503 31
Detroit, MI 905,783 17,428 306
Honolulu 906,349 2,575 18
Houston 2,238,895 24,779 294
Jacksonville, FLA 806,080 8,032 115
Las Vegas 1,353,175 13,324 120
Little Rock, ARK 187,978 2,356 40
Milwaukee, WIS 602,131 7,339 71
Miami 427,740 5,709 63
New York City 8,345,075 48,430 523
Norfolk, VA 235,067 1,951 28
Oklahoma City 552,452 5,400 57
Philadelphia 1,441,117 20,771 331
Phoenix 1,585,838 10,465 167
Pittsburgh, PA 309,757 3,358 72
Portland, OR 553,023 3,445 26
Reno 218,556 1,532 15
St. Louis, MO 356,204 7,383 167
Salt Lake City 180,514 1,420 12
Scottsdale, AZ 238,905 423 5
Seattle 598,077 3,447 29
Tucson, AZ 528,917 4,252 65

Source: Annual 2008 FBI crime report. *Number of violent crimes. Key: NA (not available).

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