Major California cities see sharp increase in homicides, car thefts during COVID pandemic

Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco have seen a significant rise in homicides and car thefts in 2020, according to California Department of Justice data reviewed by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Los Angeles recorded 332 homicides, a 40% increase from the year prior. Oakland, with 102 homicides, saw a 36% increase. San Francisco saw 48 homicides, a 17% increase, while San Diego had 55 homicides, a 10% increase over the year prior, according to PPIC.

Car thefts rose by 24% in those four cities, while commercial burglaries increased by 26%, though commercial burglaries actually decreased by 26% in Oakland.

“Commercial burglaries jumped significantly in May 2020, coinciding with civil unrest after the killing of George Floyd, and have declined in early 2021, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels,” according to the PPIC.

The rise comes despite the fact that overall, violent and property crimes in those cities remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to PPIC.

The PPIC notes that violent crime in those four cities had a significant decrease in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though it rose again, reaching pre-pandemic levels in the fall, it has since declined once more, and violent crime was about 12% lower in January and February 2021 than it was for those months in 2020.

State data shows that robberies decreased 13%, while aggravated assaults dropped by 11%, with the exception of Oakland, which saw a 10% increase in aggravated assaults.

Property crimes overall have had a notable decrease, 17%, in the first two months of 2021 compared to the first two months of 2020. Larcenies were down 34%, while residential burglaries dropped 6% — with the exception of San Francisco, which saw a 78% increase in residential burglaries.

“It is too early to determine what factors are driving these trends and differences across cities. Crime numbers fluctuate under normal circumstances, and the pandemic has been a highly unusual and challenging time. Restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have profoundly limited in-person interactions. Declines in travel, tourism, and eating out, as well as a sharp increase in remote work, have plausibly reduced some crimes,” according to the PPIC.

The California Department of Justice will release its official statewide crime statistics later this year.