Crime in San Diego was down overall in 2022, yet there were notable upticks in certain areas – including violent offenses such as robberies – city leaders said Thursday.
Collectively, crime fell 7.5%; murders and rapes fell 10.5% and 13.1% respectively.
“While that is good, we are still seeing an increase in some categories, and we must remain vigilant,” Police Chief David Nisleit said during a morning news briefing with Mayor Todd Gloria at downtown San Diego police headquarters.
Violent crimes in general rose by 2.9%, Among those crimes, robberies jumped by 18.4% over the 12-month period. Aggravated assaults, while up, rose only 1.2%. Vehicle thefts increased by 2.6%.
“One of the categories that I’m very concerned about … is armed pedestrian robberies and carjackings,” Nisleit said.
He added though that “San Diego P.D. will continually focus on prevention methods – proactive prevention methods – to address crime and prevent crime before it happens.”
Nisleit and Gloria, in their discussion of the crime statistics, praised officers and the city’s leadership for the 2022 results, which included a 14.9% drop in the number of thefts and a 4.5% dip in burglaries.
Additional decreases, according to the police chief – hate crimes, by 17.4%, gang-related offenses, by 17%, and the number of documented gang members, by 20%.
Nisleit also noted that San Diego boasts one of the lowest rates of violent crime among the 10 largest cities in the U.S.
Gloria credited policies enacted by the city’s decision-makers, including a commitment to “recruitment and retention of officers amid a nationwide (police) staffing shortage,” for the numbers.
– Staff and wire reports
Note: Photo credit – Police Chief David Nisleit, front, and Mayor Todd Gloria at the morning briefing. Screen shot, San Diego Police Department via YouTube.