Last year, California experienced a slight uptick in violent crime, with the overall rate increasing by 1.7 percent. According to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, the violent crime rate rose from 495 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2022 to 503 in 2023.
\"Like the rest of the nation, California saw a jump in violent crime in the first year of the pandemic. The state's violent crime rate is still up by 15.4 percent compared to 2019,\" researchers noted.
Homicides in California surged by 42.5 percent between 2019 and 2021. While the rate has decreased by 18.9 percent since 2021, it's still 15.5 percent higher than in 2019. Aggravated assaults have also increased by 27.4 percent compared to 2019.
Gun-related homicides and aggravated assaults spiked by 54.3 percent and 65.7 percent between 2019 and 2021. Although these rates have fallen since 2021, they remain significantly above 2019 levels.
Robberies involving firearms are up by 11.5 percent in 2023 compared to 2019. However, the proportion of robberies that involve firearms has decreased from 23.6 percent to 20.5 percent.
On a brighter note, property crimes saw a slight decline in 2023, with a 0.8 percent decrease from 2022 and slightly below 2019 levels. The majority of property crimes were larceny thefts (63 percent), followed by auto thefts (22 percent) and burglaries (15 percent).
Out of the state's 58 counties, 32 saw increases in violent crime in 2023, with seven counties experiencing a rise of 20 percent or more.
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