Crime in San Diego is at its lowest in decades with aggravated assault, violent crime, burglary, larceny and property crime reaching historic lows, according to a new report.
The latest statistics show a ten percent decrease in overall crime from January to April compared to the same period last year.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman applauded the positive report.
“I want to commend the job our officers are doing and they continue to do to make our city safe,” said Mayor Faulconer.
Chief Zimmerman credits community policing with decreasing crime in the City of San Diego.
“These kinds of reductions don’t just happen by luck or accident. It is because of the courage and hard work of our officers,” said Zimmerman.
However, the San Diego Police Officer's Association pointed out that there are many factors at play here.
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“I’d say crime statistics are a piece to the whole puzzle,” said Brian Marvel, President of the San Diego Police Officer’s Association.
When examining a city's safety, Marvel said we need to look at various metrics. Besides crime statistics, there are emergency response times and the number of officers on the street to deal with quality of life issues like noise, vandalism and graffiti.
“Crime stats don't mean anything to people in PB. What's their number one concern? Out of control drunkenness,” noted Marvel.
Marvel said competitive salaries are needed to fully staff the police department, so they can quickly answer calls and be proactive in preventing crime. He added that people don't bother calling police because they know they are understaffed. Marvel says that contributes to the under reporting of crime.
Although Chief Zimmerman credits community policing with the decrease in the crime rate and thanked officers and the community, she also agreed partly with the Police Officer's Association.
"I will never miss an opportunity to recruit, and as you know we are hiring, and I encourage everyone to join our team," said Chief Zimmerman.
