San Diego saw more violent crimes and property crimes in 2012 compared with recent years, according the SANDAG annual regional crime report.
Incidents involving violence last year were up 7 percent, to 3.77 per 1,000 residents, compared with 2011; and property crime rates went up 6 percent to 22.15 per thousand residents.
Despite the increase, Cynthia Burke, director of criminal justice research for SANDAG, said the rates are still low considering what they were a few decades ago.
"They're still among (some of) the lowest crime rates we've seen over the past 30 years, which is something to be said when you look at the numbers of people who have continued to come into our San Diego region," she said.
A total of 11,838 violent crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) were recorded in 2012.
There were 69,613 property crimes (burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft) reported last year.
Homicides saw the greatest increase, with a 30 percent rise compared with 2011. A total of 107 homicides were reported in 2012, well below the peak of 278 in 1991, but steadily increasing since a reported low of 67 in 2010.
The most common type of violent crime reported was aggravated assault, representing 66 percent of all violent crimes. The number of aggravated assaults with a firearm also increased by 27 percent compared with last year.
According to the crime rates of 2012, one in every 45 San Diego residents was the victim of a property crime. These numbers are still lower than the average five years ago, when one out of every 36 residents was the victim of a property crime.
The region’s current statistics reflect a national increase in reported violent and property crimes since 2011. Although these increases were greater in the Western United States, San Diego did not have a disproportional increase in crime rates compared to other Western cities.
