FBI: Violent crime spiked in unincorporated SLO County in 2019, decreased in most cities
Most categories of serious violent and property crime went down in most parts of San Luis Obispo County in 2019 compared to the previous year, but a spike in violent incidents in the unincorporated areas of the county led to a net increase in the most serious crimes, new data released by the FBI shows.
The data is for the calendar year 2019 and does not reflect local crime statistics since the COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic shutdown in March.
The FBI’s 2019 Crime in the United States report, released Sept. 28, shows overall positive trends in violent crimes such as robbery and aggravated assault, while property crime was generally down from 2018 in all but one San Luis Obispo County city.
Those results are not consistent across each community, however; the unincorporated areas of the county reported a 36% increase in violent crime, including a spike of five homicides.
Crime statistics only provide a snapshot of a point in time, and a host of factors can affect spikes or dips in certain categories of crime over short periods of time. The FBI discourages against “ranking” communities based on their short-term statistics.
Nationally, the report says the estimated number of violent crimes — roughly 1.2 million offenses nationally, or a rate of 366.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants — decreased for the third year in a row, a half a percent from 2018.
Reported property crimes also dropped more than 4%, the 17th consecutive year of decline for those crimes, the FBI says.
The new reported numbers include recorded incidents or offenses, and not necessarily arrests or convictions, and are self-reported annually by local law enforcement agencies to the FBI.
A spike in violent crime in the county, a 54% drop in Grover Beach
In 2018, all eight San Luis Obispo County law enforcement agencies recorded a total of 567 violent crimes — including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — and 5,226 property crimes including theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, according to the FBI data.
The 2019 numbers are a mixed bag in comparison, with violent crime up about 2.5% with 581 incidents, and property crime down 7.7% with 4,822 incidents.
On the whole, more categories of crimes reported by the county’s eight jurisdictions represented a decrease over 2018’s numbers than an increase, but different communities had varying experiences.
The unincorporated areas of the county serviced by the Sheriff’s Office saw a 36% increase in violent crimes, with 181 violent crimes reported over 115 in 2018.
The Sheriff’s Office reported five murders in 2019 (there was one in 2018), 26 rapes, five robberies, and 145 instances of aggravated assault.
Property crimes were down 11% with 963 reports (from 1,083 in 2018), including 331 burglaries, 614 theft offenses, and 18 motor vehicle thefts. The Sheriff’s Office also reported seven incidents of arson, the only category of property crime up from 2018.
The only other agency to report an increase in total incidents of violent crimes last year was the Paso Robles Police Department, which the FBI says reported a 23% increase in violent crime, with 53 incidents, and a 19% decrease in property crimes, with 646 incidents.
The city reported no murders, nine rapes, 13 robberies, and 31 aggravated assaults, as well as 78 burglaries, 236 thefts, 16 motor vehicle thefts, and one arson in 2019.
The greatest decrease of violent crime (54%) occurred in Grover Beach, which also reported a 4% decrease in total property crimes, with three rapes, one robbery, nine aggravated assaults, 56 burglaries 151 thefts, 32 motor vehicle thefts, and one arson.
Morro Bay reported a 41% drop in violent crime with 21 offenses, including one rape, three robberies, and 17 aggravated assaults, as well as 127 total property crimes — a 6% decrease — including 15 burglaries, 102 thefts, and 10 motor vehicle thefts.
Atascadero reported a 34% decrease in violent crime, or 65 incidents, including two rapes, seven robberies, and 51 aggravated assaults. Property crime increased the most of any jurisdiction — 15% — with 96 incidents of burglary, 360 thefts, 37 motor vehicle thefts, and three arson incidents.
Pismo Beach reported a 3% decrease in violent crime with 29 incidents, including six robberies and 23 aggravated assaults. Property crime there also decreased 22%, with 89 burglaries, 236 thefts, 16 motor vehicle thefts, and one arson.
The city of San Luis Obispo had exactly the same number of violent incidents in 2019 as in the previous year, or 192 offenses, including 44 rapes — the most of any jurisdiction — 34 robberies, and 114 aggravated assaults, an increase over 2018. Property crimes decreased 4% with 1,738 incidents, including 277 burglaries, 1,387 thefts, 74 vehicle thefts, and 25 arson incidents, which is up from 21 the previous year.
City Fire Marshall Roger Maggio said there several reasons for the comparatively high number of recorded arson incidents in the city, including encampments along the creek, the city’s comparatively larger number of fire prevention employees, and the city’s proactive approach to campfire and encampment abatement.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
