Giving Compass' Take:
- Nigel Duara debunks six myths about crime in California, revealing the facts underlying misconceptions such as the perception that violent crime rates are rising.
- Why do media narratives and common perceptions about crime being out of control in California persist?
- Learn more about key issues in criminal justice and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on criminal justice in your area.
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Californians have gone back and forth on crime and punishment for years. In 1994, they voted for harsher criminal penalties and a three-strikes law. Twenty years later, in 2014, nearly 60% of voters approved Proposition 47, which sought to reduce the state’s prison and jail populations by changing some felony crimes into misdemeanors and directing more state money to drug and mental health rehabilitation. Now, another 10 years on, Californians are apparently ready to reverse course again by undoing some of the changes made by Prop. 47. Here are six myths about crime in California — from street violence and guns to prisons and death row — and the truth behind them.
A new poll shows they support by a wide margin the November ballot measure Proposition 36, which would toughen sentences for certain property and drug crimes. Treating California voters as a predictable monolith is a national pastime, but it doesn’t appear to be true. Voters in the last 30 years have reversed course once on criminal justice and appear ready to do so again. But is this reversal backed up by the facts?
Myth #1 About Crime: Street-Level Crime Makes California Cities Unlivable
If crime is making California cities unlivable today, then it stands to reason that California cities must have been more livable in the last few decades, because crime must have been lower.
Except that’s not remotely the case. Statewide in 2023, the violent crime rate was 511 per 100,000 people. The high, in 1992, was slightly more than double that rate.
Even back then, and despite a violent uprising after a jury acquitted four police officers of assault in the beating of Rodney King, Los Angeles made Money Magazine’s top 50 most livable cities in 1992. So did San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego.
California’s overall violent crime drop has been huge, falling 47% between 1993 and 2022, the last year for which national data is available. The state has mirrored a slightly bigger violent crime rate drop of 49% during the same period.
The last time the violent crime rate was as low as it is now: 1970.
Read the full article about myths about California crime by Nigel Duara at CalMatters.