Attorney General Bill Lockyer Releases Statewide Violent and Property Crime Statistics For First Nine Months of 2005

Slight Increases in Homicide, Robbery and Aggravated Assault Contributed to Rise in Violent Crime

Thursday, March 23, 2006
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today released the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “Preliminary Report: Crime in 2005, January Through September,” showing slight increases in violent crime (0.8 percent) and property crime (3.3 percent) when compared to the same period in 2004.

“California hasn’t seen an increase in the overall number of violent crimes from a periodic report since 2002,” Lockyer said. “While it is a small increase, it is important for my office and local law enforcement to keep our focus on shutting down the sources of crime.”

In the violent crime category, forcible rape had the only decrease of 2.7 percent. Homicide increased by 0.4 percent, robbery increased by 2.0 percent and aggravated assault increased by 0.5 percent. The property crime category showed increases in burglary (3.2 percent), motor vehicle theft (5.5 percent) and larceny-theft over $400 (0.9 percent). Additionally, arson decreased by 7.8 percent.

“Right now our state is fighting an uphill battle against methamphetamine use and abuse,” Lockyer said. “It is a dangerous and highly addictive drug that is also an active ingredient in the state’s violent crime totals. Law enforcement agencies need the restoration of critical federal funding they have lost over the years to combat this problem.”

Since 1999, federal funding of DOJ’s California Methamphetamine Strategy (CALMS) program, which comprehensively attacks all facets of methamphetamine production and distribution in California, has declined 92 percent, from $18.2 million to $1.5 million. The resulting losses to personnel and investigation operations are consistent with a reduction in meth laboratory seizures statewide over the same period of time.

This publication compares preliminary crime data reported by police and sheriff’s departments for the first nine months of 2005 against the first nine months of 2004 for 81 jurisdictions that have populations of 100,000 or greater. These 81 jurisdictions account for about 65 percent of California’s reported crimes, annually. The preliminary report is available on the Attorney General’s web site at http://ag.ca.gov/cjsc/publications/ninemorpt/js05/js05_rpt.pdf .

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