Violent crime was up 8 percent in the San Diego region last year, and property crime was up 9 percent, compared to 2020, according to a newly released report.
In particular, reports of rape and aggravated assault are up, according to the San Diego Association of Governments, which tracks local crime data.
And while reports of robberies and thefts hit a 42-year low last year, thefts were up overall, according to SANDAG. The number of stolen cars increased by 20 percent. And auto parts thefts were surprisingly higher, up 71 percent. The most stolen parts are the catalysts.
The agency publishes an annual report comparing crime figures from year to year. It has been tracking data since 1980.
Cynthia Burke, Senior Director of Data Science at SANDAG, noted that while overall crime rates for 2021 are at “record lows for our region, violent and property crime are up last year.”
Crime has steadily declined over the last three decades, but has started to pick up in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Last year, countywide, rapes and aggravated assaults were up 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in 2021, compared to the previous year.
Homicides increased slightly last year, from 115 to 118, an increase of 3 percent. That’s a much smaller increase than in 2020, when homicides rose 35 percent.
In the homicides last year in which investigators determined a motive, almost a third of the murders were the result of an argument. Another 18 percent of the deaths were gang-related.
Reports of domestic violence increased 3 percent.
The report also indicates that some $244 million worth of goods were stolen in the region last year, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.
Some 37 percent—$83 million—of the stolen property was recovered.
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