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Data Hit

Crime in California Remains Well Below Historical Peaks

August 2024 | By Scott Graves

Daytime aerial view of a suburban neighborhood.

Everyone wants to live in safe communities, and data show California continues to experience crime rates well below historical peaks. The property crime rate — the number of property crimes per 100,000 residents — was 2,273 in 2023, far below the peak of 6,881 in 1980. The violent crime rate was 511 per 100,000 in 2023, less than half the 1992 peak of 1,104.

Crime rates have ticked up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any rise in crime is concerning, but state leaders should avoid overreacting as crime rates remain at historic lows in California. Moreover, voters should be skeptical of efforts to use the ballot box to roll back justice system reforms by reinstating the costly and ineffective mass incarceration policies of the past.

Instead of resurrecting failed, incarceration-focused approaches, state leaders must advance strategies to reduce youth violence, strengthen families and communities, and target the longstanding structural barriers to opportunity — such as poverty and housing instability — that disproportionately impact Black, Latinx, and other Californians of color.

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Governor Newsom’s revised budget includes deeper cuts to vital programs and services that will negatively impact the lives of families with low incomes, foster youth, immigrant communities, people with disabilities, and many more Californians. Nearly 90% of the governor’s proposals to close the budget shortfall come from spending-related actions, including cuts and delays. In contrast, raising additional revenue makes up less than 4% and withdrawing from the rainy day fund makes up less than 6% of his proposals.

State leaders could prevent the most disastrous cuts by further tapping into the state’s rainy day fund and permanently reducing tax breaks for profitable corporations. California is slated to spend billions of dollars on tax breaks this year — despite the budget shortfall — with some of the most costly breaks primarily benefiting highly profitable corporations at a time when corporate profits have reached record highs. These tax breaks take billions of dollars out of the state budget that would be better spent supporting the health and well-being of Californians.

As policymakers navigate a challenging budget year and work toward a California for all, it’s crucial that fair taxation and increasing revenues be part of the solution. By tapping into California’s great wealth and reallocating resources to benefit all Californians, policymakers can chart a path forward where economic opportunity, affordable housing, accessible health care, quality education, child care, and other basic needs are within reach for every Californian.

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Policy-making should be based on facts and evidence, not false perceptions or political motivations. Proposals to increase penalties for shoplifting fail this test.

In California, shoplifting is a misdemeanor that applies when the value of goods taken is $950 or less. Retail theft that exceeds $950 may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. This standard was created by Proposition 47, a reform measure passed by voters in November 2014, and is one of the toughest in the country. For example, in Texas, a felony charge isn’t triggered until the value of stolen goods reaches $2,500 — much higher than in California.

Shoplifting remains well below pre-pandemic levels despite a recent rise. The shoplifting rate — the number of shoplifting crimes per 100,000 Californians — was 210 in 2022, the most recent statewide data available. This is down by 17% from 2014, the year that Prop. 47 took effect.

Policymakers should avoid resurrecting the failed, incarceration-focused policies of the past. Instead, California needs thoughtful solutions to real, high-priority problems. This includes addressing the root causes of crime by investing in housing, jobs, education, food assistance, and other strategies to ensure that all Californians can be healthy and thrive.

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California's crime rates are down significantly compared to past highs, despite a recent national increase. Learn how California's current crime rate compares to previous decades.

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who are k-12 students from multilingual homes?

Students from multilingual homes are 5 to 18 years of age who attend a public K-12 school and speak a language other than English at home.

Millions of California students come to school with an invaluable asset: living in homes where a language other than English is spoken. Ensuring these students can leverage their linguistic assets and succeed at school requires meeting their basic needs, including access to affordable medical care.

Health care should be accessible and affordable to all Californians, especially school-aged children. Medi-Cal is our state’s health coverage program for residents with low incomes and is essential for the health and well-being of millions of K-12 students and their families.

More than 1.4 million California K-12 public school students who live in homes where a language other than English is spoken participate in Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal provides preventive care and treatment for health conditions that allows students from multilingual homes to attend and thrive at school – including achieving the opportunity of biliteracy.

Medi-Cal is a critical part of the social safety net that combats poverty, meets basic needs, and helps students attend school and prepare for the future. By providing access to affordable health care, Medi-Cal frees up household resources for other basic needs such as rent, utilities, or food. Without the support Medi-Cal and other social safety net programs provide, students’ basic needs may not be met and they would be less likely to regularly attend and engage in school.

Support for this report was provided by The Sobrato Family Foundation.

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Nearly 1.2 million California public K-12 students are English learners who bring an invaluable asset with them to school: speaking a language other than English. Ensuring these students can leverage their linguistic assets requires them to attend and succeed at school.

Having a safe, stable place to live is crucial for student development and educational success. But, more than 245,000 of California’s public K-12 students experienced homelessness in 2022-23. This includes children temporarily staying with other families due to economic hardship, and children living in motels, shelters, vehicles, public spaces, or substandard housing.

Students who are English learners disproportionately experience homelessness. English learners comprise 1 in 5 California K-12 public school students, but English learners were more than 1 in 3 of the state’s students who experienced homelessness in 2022-23. Housing instability is one reason English learners experience high rates of chronic absenteeism, which causes them to lose critical access to curriculum, opportunities to leverage their linguistic assets, and social structures that schools, educators, and peers offer.

Policymakers should boost investments in safe, affordable housing and target additional funding and resources for students who are more likely to experience homelessness, including California’s English learners. Policy solutions should also be rooted in equitable interventions that build community trust and integrate culturally and linguistically competent practices to ensure every California K-12 student can thrive in school and life.

Support for this report was provided by The Sobrato Family Foundation.

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who are k-12 students from multilingual homes?

Students from multilingual homes are 5 to 18 years of age who attend a public K-12 school and speak a language other than English at home.

Millions of California students come to school with an invaluable asset: living in homes where a language other than English is spoken. Ensuring these students can leverage their linguistic assets and succeed at school requires meeting their basic needs, including sufficient access to food.

Access to affordable food is essential for everyone, especially for school-aged children. The CalFresh program helps Californians put food on the table by providing monthly benefits for people with low incomes, including K-12 students and their families.

More than 1 out of every 4 California K-12 public school students (27.6%) who live in homes where a language other than English is spoken participate in CalFresh, providing vital food assistance to the households of more than 650,000 students.

CalFresh is a critical part of the social safety net that combats poverty and helps students attend and succeed in school. By providing additional resources for food, CalFresh also frees up household resources for other basic needs such as rent, utilities, or medical care. Meeting the basic needs of many students from multilingual households would be more challenging without the support CalFresh provides.

Support for this report was provided by The Sobrato Family Foundation.

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California was home to over 11 million immigrants in 2023, making up 28% of the state population — the largest percentage of immigrant residents of any state.

Immigrants are essential to California’s labor force, with a total of 6.1 million immigrants employed in California from 2021 to 2023, representing 1 in 3 workers in the state. Immigrants and children of immigrants made up over half of all California workers during this same period. In addition, nearly half (45%) of working households in California included immigrants in 2023.

Immigrants are vital in creating the vibrant, prosperous communities and strong workforce that propelled California into becoming the fifth largest economy in the world. Recognizing the invaluable cultural and economic wealth immigrants bring to the state, policymakers should continue ending immigration status exclusions from our safety net programs to ensure all Californians have access to the supports they need to thrive.

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The Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) program is a critical lifeline that assists over 1 million low-income individuals with disabilities and adults age 65 or older in California by covering expenses such as housing, food, and other essential living costs.

The fiscal year 2021-22 state budget included a significant SSP grant increase of 24%, which became effective on January 1, 2022. This increase has helped to reduce the disparity between grant levels and the Federal Poverty Line (FPL). However, many participants in the program still struggle to afford basic necessities like rent.

Despite the recent increase, grant levels remain insufficient due to damaging budget cuts made by the state during the Great Recession. During this period, the state eliminated the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the SSP grant. Had the COLA been preserved, grant levels would have already exceeded the FPL. Restoring the COLA can ensure that grants keep up with rising costs especially given recent inflation trends.

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