S.D. Crime Rate Up 4% in 1st Half of ’85

The crime rate in the City of San Diego rose 4% in the first six months of this year as compared to the same period last year, while the rate for some surrounding cities rose as much as 42%, according to a report released by the San Diego Assn. of Governments (Sandag).

Crime for the county as a whole increased 4%, while the rate for violent crime countywide was up 2%.

The rate for reported crimes--including homicide, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, theft and car theft--increased 33% in Santee and 30% in Coronado from January to June of this year as compared to the same time last year.

Other areas, however, recorded a significant drop in the crime rate. San Marcos had 16% less crime reported during the same period, while Del Mar had 12% less.

Much of the increase can be attributed to a rise in the number of reported burglaries and car thefts, said Susan Pennell, director of the criminal justice research unit at Sandag. This is the second consecutive six-month period that the number of crimes reported has risen for the county, she said.

The crime rate is determined by the number of crimes reported per 1,000 residents in each community, Pennell said.

“What is interesting is that from 1980 to 1984 we saw a decline in the crime rate every year. That trend appears to be changing,” Pennell said.

Although the jump in Coronado’s crime rate appears to be significant, if broken down to raw numbers it means a difference of 441 crimes reported in the first six months of this year as compared to 339 for the same period last year.

“You can talk about Coronado’s crime rate going up, but relatively speaking, it still is a safe place to live,” Pennell said.

Of the violent crimes reported to police agencies from January to June of this year, there were fewer reported instances of rape this year than last year. There were 366 rapes in the county reported during the first six months of 1984, while 300 were reported this year.

The most significant increase was in the number of reported motor vehicle thefts, according to the report. During the first six months of of 1984, 6,890 vehicles were reported stolen, while 7,688 were stolen during the same period this year.

The following list provides the changes in overall crime rates for San Diego County communities. The first figure represents crimes per 1,000 population in the first six months of 1984, and the later is for the first six months of 1985:

Carlsbad: from 53.4 to 50.5, down 5%.

Chula Vista: 60.5 to 57.7, down 5%.

Coronado: 34.5 to 44.7, up 30%.

El Cajon: 57.8 to 63.4, up 10%.

Escondido: 43.5 to 50.7, up 17%.

La Mesa: 49.0 to 48.8, down 1%.

National City: 76.2 to 87.3, up 15%.

Oceanside: 52.5 to 50.5, down 4%.

San Diego: 67.5 to 70.1, up 4%.

Del Mar: 89.5 to 78.6, down 12%.

Imperial Beach: 33.4 to 47.5, up 42%.

Lemon Grove: 45.1 to 43.6, down 3%.

Poway: 21.4 to 26.8, up 25%.

San Marcos: 36.2 to 30.4, down 16%.

Santee: 24.8 to 32.9, up 33%.

Vista: 41.2 to 37.3, down 9%.

Unincorporated areas: 30.7 to 32.5, up 6%.