Attorney General Lockyer Releases Statewide 2002 Crime Statistics

Report contains statewide crime rates based on crime and arrest data from all of California's more than 600 reporting agencies.

Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today released comprehensive California crime statistics for 2002, which show an increase of 2.4 percent in the overall crime rate when compared to 2001, with a 4.9 percent increase in property crime rates and a 2.7 percent decrease in the rate of violent crimes.

The California Department of Justice report, "Crime in California, 2002, Advance Release," provides a summary of crimes and arrests reported by law enforcement jurisdictions in the state and adult felony dispositions reported by police, sheriffs, prosecutors and courts.

The report shows that rates rose in five of the six crime categories from 2001 to 2002: homicide rates increased (7.9 percent), forcible rape rates increased (1.4 percent), robbery rates are up slightly (0.8 percent), burglary rates rose (1.7 percent), motor vehicle theft rose (8.6 percent) and aggravated assault rates continue to decline falling 4.8 percent compared to a decrease of 3.1 percent in 2001.

"Our local law enforcement agencies, despite lean times, are still on the beat protecting our citizens and getting criminal offenders off the streets," said Lockyer. "But increasing populations and a weak economy mean police, sheriff and prosecutors need our support now more than ever. We need to ensure that their funding doesn't sink to a level that compromises our safety."

Among at-risk populations, the arrest rate per 100,000 was down 1.7 percent from 2001 to 2002, however total arrest numbers increased slightly by 0.4 percent which includes an increase in adult felony arrest numbers by 4.2 percent and a decline in juvenile felony arrest numbers by 3.8 percent.

"Crime in California, 2002 Advance Release" is available on the Attorney General's website at http://ag.ca.gov/cjsc/publications/advrelease/ad/ad02/ad02.pdf and contains data reported to the Department of Justice for the calendar year 2002. The report displays reported crimes and crime rates per 100,000 in population for the periods 1997 through 2002, and compares those rates to 1980, when California's crime rate peaked. The report also includes arrest numbers and rates, and adult felony arrest dispositions for 1996 through 2001 and links to crime rates for individual counties with a population over 100,000. "Crime in California, 2002 Advance Release" is a summary of "Crime in California, 2002" which will be released on the Attorney General's website later this year.

Earlier this year, a preliminary crime report was released by the Department of Justice, summarizing crimes reported by 78 jurisdictions with populations exceeding 100,000, which represent about 65 percent of the state's total reported crimes.

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