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]
In 2010, Los Angeles reported 293 homicides.[5] 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).[6]
Every year in California, approximately 150 thousand violent crimes and 1 million property crimes are committed.[7] With a population of about 40 million people, approximately 1.2 million arrests are made every year in California.[7] The California superior courts hear about 270,000 felony cases, 900,000 misdemeanor cases, and 5 million infraction cases every year.[8] There are currently 130,000 people in state prisons[9] and 70,000 people in county jails.[10] Of these, there are 746 people who have been sentenced to death.[11]
In 2018, California had 531 state and local law enforcement agencies. Those agencies employed a total of 130,451 staff. Of the total staff, 79,038 were sworn officers (defined as those with general arrest powers).[12]
Police ratio
In 2018, California had 200 police officers per 100,000 residents.[12]
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."
2005: Randall Harold Cunningham—pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud; sentenced to 100 months. Conditionally pardoned in 2021
^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.
References
^ ab"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.