More arrests made for violent crimes than property crimes in S.D. County

SAN DIEGO COUNTY – More people were arrested in 2014 for committing violent crimes than for property crimes in San Diego County, according to an annual report issued last week by the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division.

In all, law enforcement officers made 15,566 arrests for violent crimes, compared to 11,524 arrests for property offenses, according to the report, "Arrests 2014: Law Enforcement Response to Crime in the San Diego Region."

Violent crime arrests edged up two percent over the previous year – fueled in part by an increase in the number of adults arrested for rape, murder, and assault, and juveniles arrested for robbery and aggravated assault.

In the same period, arrests for property crimes – such as theft, burglary, larceny and arson – declined 3 percent.

The region’s overall arrest rate – 33.1 arrests per 1,000 residents – marked a 3 percent drop from 2013 and the second straight decline for the region.

Researchers noted that adult arrest figures saw significant one-year declines for weapons-related offenses, which were down 13 percent; for felony-level property crimes, which were down 12 percent; and for felony-level alcohol/drug offenses, which declined 10 percent.

"It is too early to say definitively, but these decreases could be related in part to Proposition 47," said Dr. Cynthia Burke, SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division director. "Implementation of that measure began in the final quarter of 2014, and it resulted in many property-related crimes and drug-related crimes being reduced to misdemeanors."

Other notable facts in the report:

• There was a 19 percent drop in arrests of minors involved in property crimes. (This continues a steady, five-year decline from just more than 3,000 arrests in 2010 to approximately 1,400 in 2014.)
• Overall, juvenile arrest rate declined eight percent and have remained lower than adult arrests for the second consecutive year.
• Until 2012, the arrest rate for minors was traditionally higher than adults.
• Overall, the number of adults arrested dropped 3 percent, but adults still comprise 92 percent of all arrests.
• On average, 29 adults were arrested each day for misdemeanor DUI, making it the most common reason for an adult to be arrested in the region.
• Misdemeanor-level prostitution arrests dropped 39 percent.