Biggest increases seen in hate crimes, which saw a 77 percent spike, and vehicle thefts, which increased 25 percent. The increases mirror those seen across the country
The city of San Diego saw increases in nearly every category of major crime in 2021, police officials said, mirroring a trend seen in other large cities across the nation.Across the city, crime increased about 13 percent, according to the latest figures. The year’s violent crime rate of 4.2 crimes per thousand residents was the highest the city had seen in nearly a decade, and the property crime rate of 19.6 crimes per thousand residents was the highest since 2016, department officials said.
Still, experts say crime in San Diego remains at near historic lows when compared to the rates seen in the 1980s and 1990s. Both crime and property rates have held fairly steady over the last decade, and, despite the increases seen in 2021, current crime rates are comparable to the late 1950s when the city’s population was much smaller, police officials said.
“As a member of the LGBTQ community, I am concerned,” said Councilmember Jennifer Campbell. “Just because equal rights for the LGBTQ community are advancing quickly, the reality is that homophobia is still impacting us, from micro aggressions all the way to hate crimes described in this report.” To address rising crime, the department recently added a sixth homicide investigation team and a new ghost gun investigation team. The department is also leaning into intelligence-led policing strategies that help zero in on specific crimes and offenders and regularly participates in walks with community groups in various neighborhoods.
After the department’s presentation, City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera urged the city to invest in strategies designed to prevent crime and violence from happening in the first place. He brought up reducing substance abuse, confronting the city’s gun problem, reducing harmful effects of the justice process and better engaging and supporting young people as examples — all solutions that have been discussed before by Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe, Elo-Rivera said.