Arrest rates in San Diego County were at a 10-year low last year, the San Diego Association of Governments reported Wednesday.
According to the report, 35 adults per 1,000 in the county were booked for a crime in 2012, compared to 43.7 per thousand in 2003. According to SANDAG, a regional planning agency, the decline in adult arrest rates has been relatively steady since 2004.
The report also showed juvenile arrests at 30.8 per 1,000, compared to 53.1 per 1,000 in 2003. The rate is almost half that of 2008.
The age group with the most arrests was adults 18 to 24 years old (62.5 per 1,000). The most common reason for adult arrests was for driving under the influence.
For juveniles, most were busted for so-called "status" offenses, almost two-thirds for violating curfews. Many others were for truancy.
The agency also found that 231 people were arrested each day in the region in 2012, compared to 240 per day one year earlier.
Among other findings:
-- 13,684 arrests of adults were made last year for violent offenses, continuing a decline from a high of 14,511 in 2009;
-- 1,701 juveniles were busted for violent offenses in 2012, also continuing a steady drop from a recent high of 2,745 in 2008;
-- 10,084 grown-ups were taken into custody for property crimes in 2012, continuing an increase from a recent low of 9,366 in 2009;
-- 2,048 minors were arrested for property crimes last year, showing a continued steady decline from a recent high of 3,724 in 2008;
-- 117 blacks per 1,000 population were arrested in 2012, a 24 percent drop from 2008;
-- 36.1 Hispanics per 1,000 were arrested last year, a 39 percent decline in that time period; and
-- 31.8 whites per 1,000 were busted last year, a 17 percent decrease.
A separate SANDAG report says that spending by the county and cities in the San Diego region on public safety last year was 6 percent lower than in 2008. Combined, $1.787 billion was spent on public safety in the 2012-13 fiscal year in San Diego County.
