San Diego Lowest Murder Rate In Over 40 Years

Experts and law enforcement are seeing a downward trend in the murder rate in San Diego County where it has hit its lowest since 1968.  Over four decades ago when Lyndon Johnson was the president and 24 people were murdered that year. The recent drop has been attributed to more focused police crackdowns on gangs, better trauma care and curfew sweeps.

The city’s Mayor, Jerry Saunders stated, “I’m absolutely astounded at 29 total homicides for a city with a 1.3 million population… That’s just unbelievable to me.” Saunders served as San Diego Police Chief of from 1993 to 1999.

Credit has also been given to the gang suppression team who use street intelligence to understand where violence may strike.  Additionally, multi-agency curfew and  task force sweeps have aided in putting gang shot-callers behind bars.

According to data provided by the FBI, the entire nation has actually seen murder decrease for four consecutive years.  It has dropped 7.3 percent in 2009 over the previous year and the trend continues.

Reportedly, most of the county’s homicides stem from gang-related and random crimes, fights and domestic violence. Some experts believe the economic downturn places stress on homes that may already be subject to violence which in turn, escalates into worse situations.

However, criminology professor Elliot Currie of UC Irvine believes the bad economy may have helped to relieve other types of murder temporarily. “By slowing down all kinds of economic activity, it also slows down activities that lead to homicides, such as hanging out in bars, buying booze and getting into fights, or buying lost of drugs,” he stated.

Others agree the decrease in fatalities may stem from several years of excellent trauma care and quick response times by ambulances. Jay Doucet a UCSD Medical Center trauma surgeon cited data from regional and national trauma registries, claiming, “UCSD’s survival rate for gunshot wounds is one of the highest in the country.”

Unfortunately, the new year has seen a violent beginning. Two homicides occurred on Jan. 1 and followed up with four more in following days.  Director of  criminal justice research at the San Diego Association of Governments, Cynthia Burke doesn’t want to see any complacency because of the lower figures in murder rates. Some at-risk youths may be in danger of being put aside due to budget crunches, where funding for curfew and truancy sweeps have helped to lower the rate.

Elliot Currie concurred by stating, “There’s a certain tendency among public figures to be complacent when they see crime figures falling. 

The Sheriff oversees a 4,200 mile region which includes rural back country and urban areas. According to Lt. Dennis Brugos, who leads the homicide unit, the downward trend was not seen in his jurisdiction. In fact, homicides almost doubled last year from 13 to 25. ‘There’s nothing you could do to predict these types of things,” he stated.

For right now, it’s hopeful to see these figures in the murder rate in San Diego County. Let’s all hope to see a year where there is an even lower number and a continued fall in gang murders as seen from 28 in 2007 to four in 2010.

---