San Diego County Crime

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.

Those that do suffer crime problems often have aggravating forces, gangs foremost.

Guns are another problem. In Europe, they punch each other; here, we pull the trigger.

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.)

San Diego Crime

Compared to the rest of the nation, San Diego County can almost be called peaceful (but don't drop your guard.). Analyzing preliminary data, the New York Times in 2007 said that among major cities in the U.S., San Diego had the third lowest crime rate (behind New York, lowest, and Los Angeles).

Many cities and neighborhoods in the county go years without reporting a homicide. And when a murder is committed, often the victim and the murderer know each other or are related. This doesn't make the deed any less heinous but randon murders or murders by strangers often are more upsetting.

In 1981, San Diego County, when its population was much lower, reported 157 homicides. In the following years, with exceptions, the numbers climbed and in 1991 peaked at 278.

By 1997, they were down to  125 and in 2002 the county tallied 87 homicides. In 2003, homicides rose to 130 and in 2004 dropped to 128 and in 2005 dropped again, to 98.

The drop in the mid and late 1990s was mirrored in many cities across the country. And many were the people and ideas that claimed credit. These included locking more people up, rising prosperity, more abortions (which, the theory goes, reduced the number of young men who might be prone to violence), better police work and faster, better medical care, which saved lives that would have been lost 10 or 20 years ago.

As for how crime relates to choosing a neighborhood:

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.

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.