Crime in California

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Crime in California refers refers to crime occurring within the U.S. state of California.

State statistics[]

In 2019, there were 1,096,668 crimes reported in California including 1,679 murders, 14,720 rapes and 915,197 property crimes.[1]: 9  In 2019, there were 1,012,441 arrests of adults and 43,181 arrests of juveniles in California.[1]: 20 

In 2014, 1,697 people were victims of homicides. 30% of homicides were gang-related, 28% were due to an unspecified argument, 9% were domestic, and 7% were robbery related. The rest were unknown.[2] In 2017 the violent crime rate in California rose 1.5% and was 14th highest of the 50 states.[3]

Number of crimes per 100,000 persons in 2004 (crime rates)[4]
Violent crime rates Property crime rates Total Rank
Population Violent crime Homicide Rape Robbery Serious assault Property crime Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft
35,893,799 551.8 6.7 26.8 172.1 346.3 3,419.0 685.1 2,030.1 703.8 11,970.8 26
Year Population Index Violent Property Murder Rape[5] Robbery Aggravated
assault		 Burglary Larceny
theft		 Vehicle
theft
1960 15,717,204 546,069 37,558 508,511 616 2,859 18,796 18,796 143,102 311,956 53,453
1970 19,953,134 1,264,854 94,741 1,170,113 1,376 7,005 45,083 45,083 349,788 682,811 137,514
1980 23,532,680 1,264,854 210,290 1,633,042 3,411 13,693 102,766 102,766 545,138 913,070 174,834
1990 29,760,021 1,965,237 311,051 1,654,186 3,553 12,688 182,602 182,602 400,392 951,580 302,214
2000 33,871,648 1,266,714 210,531 1,056,183 2,079 9,785 60,249 138,418 222,293 651,855 182,035
2010 37,338,198 1,146,072 164,133 981,939 1,809 8,331 58,116 95,877 228,857 600,558 152,524
2016 39,250,017 1,176,866 174,796 1,002,070 1,930 10,149 54,789 104,375 188,304 637,010 176,756
2017 39,613,045 1,173,972 178,553 986,769 1,829 14,724 56,609 105,391 176,638 641,804 168,327
2018 39,825,181 1,126,387 176,866 940,998 1,739 15,500 54,312 105,315 164,540 621,288 155,170
2019 39,959,095 1,096,668 173,205 915,197 1,679 14,720 52,050 104,756 151,596 622,869 140,732

By location[]

Los Angeles[]

Main article: Crime in Los Angeles

In 2010, Los Angeles reported 293 homicides.[6] The 2010 number corresponds to a rate of 7.6 per 100,000 population. Murders in Los Angeles have decreased since the peak year of 1993, when the homicide rate was 21.1 (per 100,000 population).[7]

Bakersfield[]

On 12 September 2018, a shooting rampage was witnessed in Bakersfield, where a man killed five people and then took his life as well. The mass shooting is considered to be the third deadliest gun violence in the US in 2018.[8]

San Bruno[]

The mother, biological-father and step-father of a 15-year-old girl were jailed for allegedly mistreating and kidnapping a 17-year-old African American boy found in their daughter's closet. San Bruno Police booked them for hate crime.[9]

Legal Procedure[]

Further information: Criminal Procedure in California

As one of the fifty states of the United States, California follows common law criminal procedure. The principal source of law for California criminal procedure is the California Penal Code, Part 2, "Of Criminal Procedure."

Every year in California, approximately 150 thousand violent crimes and 1 million property crimes are committed.[10] With a population of about 40 million people, approximately 1.2 million arrests are made every year in California.[10] The California superior courts hear about 270,000 felony cases, 900,000 misdemeanor cases, and 5 million infraction cases every year.[11] There are currently 130,000 people in state prisons[12] and 70,000 people in county jails.[13] Of these, there are 746 people who have been sentenced to death.[14]

Policing[]

Further information: List of law enforcement agencies in California

In 2008, California had 509 state and local law enforcement agencies.[15] Those agencies employed a total of 126,538 staff.[15] Of the total staff, 79,431 were sworn officers (defined as those with general arrest powers).[15]

Police ratio[]

In 2008, California had 217 police officers per 100,000 residents.[15]

Capital punishment laws[]

Further information: Capital punishment in California

The death penalty (also known as capital punishment) is applied in California.[16] Governor Gavin Newsom suspended the use of the death penalty in March 2019.[17]

Organized crime[]

Organized crime in California involves the criminal activities of organized crime groups, street gangs, criminal extremists, and terrorists in California.[18] Traditional organized crime are in the form of Cosa Nostra (LCN), Sicilian Mafia, and Camorra. Eurasian criminal networks specialize in white-collar crime, fraud, prostitution and human trafficking. Crime cells from Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe impact public safety and the state's economy.

Gangs[]

Gangs in California are classified into three categories: criminal street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Gang operations usually include "assault, auto theft, drive-by shooting, illegal drug and narcotic manufacturing, drug and narcotic trafficking, forgery, fraud, home invasion robbery, identity theft, murder, weapons trafficking, witness intimidation, and violence against law enforcement."

Terrorism[]

Domestic criminal extremists include various racial supremacy groups. International terrorists include Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), and Jamaat ul-Fuqra (JUF).

Notable incidents[]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by with reliable sources.

See also[]

General:

  • Crime in the United States
  • Criminal Procedure in California

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Crime in California" (PDF). State of California Department of Justice - OpenJustice. 2020-07-01. Archived (pdf) from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  2. ^ Bulwa, Demian (July 4, 2015). "By the numbers: Who got killed, and why, in California last year". SFGATE.
  3. ^ "Crime Trends in California". Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  4. ^ "US Census Bureau, median household income by state 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
  5. ^ In 2014, the crime of "forcible rape" was changed to "rape." The definition was expanded to include both male and female victims and reflects the various forms of sexual penetration understood to be rape.
  6. ^ 2010 California offenses known to law enforcement FBI. Retrieved August 10, 2012
  7. ^ Crime Rates
  8. ^ "Gunman kills five people in California, then himself". Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  9. ^ "California parents charged with hate crime after allegedly assaulting boy found in daughter's closet". 6abc. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  10. ^ a b "2015 California Attorney General Report" (PDF).
  11. ^ "2015 California Judicial Council Court Statistics Report" (PDF).
  12. ^ "California Department of Corrections Office of Research, Population Reports". Archived from the original on 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  13. ^ "California's County Jails".
  14. ^ These are the 746 inmates awaiting execution on California's death row, Los Angeles Times, Paige St. John & Maloy Moore, August 24, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d "U.S. Department of Justice, Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008, p.15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  16. ^ "Facts about capital punishment - the death penalty". www.religioustolerance.org.
  17. ^ Arango, Tim (2019-03-12). "California Death Penalty Suspended; 737 Inmates Get Stay of Execution". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  18. ^ Organized Crime in California California Department of Justice. Sacramento: Criminal Intelligence Bureau, 2005.

Further reading[]

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