Hello, Uptown!
You may have noticed since the arrival of Dorian Hargrove, our site has had an uptick in interesting data stories. Whether they’re related to parking tickets or pepper spray, they tell us something new about our city or neighborhoods.
I took note of a recent one focusing on Uptown: Car break-ins.
Now I have never had my car broken into, and I am hoping that doesn’t change. However, a friend of mine has had her car broken into. Luckily, she keeps hers in much better shape than mine, so there wasn’t much, if anything, to take.
It’s obviously not a great feeling to come back to your car and see someone has been inside, but I’m not here to hit the panic button when it comes to break-ins in our area. From the data over the years, it looks like the numbers are continuing to go down each year.
There was a spike in 2023 of 732 car break-ins reported, and the numbers went down slightly the next year with 681 reports. There was an even larger step down in 2025 with 483 break-ins. From early accounts, 2026 looks to be on the same trajectory. Data collected through Sept. 19 has the tally at 352.
Out of our Uptown neighborhoods, North Park is the zone with the most break-ins. So far this year, the area has had a reported 81 break-ins. Hillcrest has had 67 and Park West has had 43.
The single block with the most reported break-ins is 4300 Park Blvd. That’s the behemoth of an intersection that sits between San Diego Unified’s district offices and the Winslow apartment complex with the CVS.
Looking at the reports mapped out, while there are a decent amount of reported incidents on El Cajon Boulevard, Adams Avenue and Washington Street, break-ins aren’t contained to our busier roads. They’re scattered throughout blocks.
You can take a look for yourself here.
Tessa Balc
Uptown News newsletter host
Uptown story spotlight
County releases data on San Diego trash fee error that overcharged residents $11.8 million
By Dorian Hargrove • Times of San Diego
San Diego county releases data on the number of homeowners who were overcharged by the city for trash service.
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