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Crime in California

Crime in California refers to crime occurring within the U.S. state of California.

State statistics

In 2019, there were 1,096,668 crimes reported in California including 1,679 murders, 14,720 rapes and 915,197 property crimes.^: 9 In 2019, there were 1,012,441 arrests of adults and 43,181 arrests of juveniles in California.^: 20

In 2014, 1,697 people were victims of homicides. 30% of homicides were gang-related, 28% were due to an unspecified argument, 9% were domestic, and 7% were robbery related. The rest were unknown. In 2017 the violent crime rate in California rose 1.5% and was 14th highest of the 50 states.

By location

Los Angeles

In 2010, Los Angeles reported 293 homicides. The 2010 number corresponds to a rate of 7.6 per 100,000 population. Murders in Los Angeles have decreased since the peak year of 1993, when the homicide rate was 21.1 (per 100,000 population).

Legal procedure

As one of the fifty states of the United States, California follows common law criminal procedure. The principal source of law for California criminal procedure is the California Penal Code, Part 2, "Of Criminal Procedure."

Every year in California, approximately 150 thousand violent crimes and 1 million property crimes are committed. With a population of about 40 million people, approximately 1.2 million arrests are made every year in California. The California superior courts hear about 270,000 felony cases, 900,000 misdemeanor cases, and 5 million infraction cases every year. There are currently 130,000 people in state prisons and 70,000 people in county jails. Of these, there are 746 people who have been sentenced to death.

Policing

In 2018, California had 531 state and local law enforcement agencies. Those agencies employed a total of 130,451 staff. Of the total staff, 79,038 were sworn officers (defined as those with general arrest powers).

Police ratio

In 2018, California had 200 police officers per 100,000 residents.

Capital punishment laws

The death penalty (also known as capital punishment) is legal in California, although Governor Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on the use on March 13, 2019. The last execution was issued for Clarence Ray Allen on January 17, 2006, through lethal injection.

Organized crime

Organized crime in California involves the criminal activities of organized crime groups, street gangs, criminal extremists, and terrorists in California. Traditional organized crime are in the form of Cosa Nostra (LCN), Sicilian Mafia, and Camorra. Eurasian criminal networks specialize in white-collar crime, fraud, prostitution and human trafficking. Crime cells from Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe impact public safety and the state's economy.

Gangs

Gangs in California are classified into three categories: criminal street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Gang operations usually include "assault, auto theft, drive-by shooting, illegal drug and narcotic manufacturing, drug and narcotic trafficking, forgery, fraud, home invasion robbery, identity theft, murder, weapons trafficking, witness intimidation, and violence against law enforcement."

Terrorism

Domestic criminal extremists include various racial supremacy groups. International terrorists include Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), and Jamaat ul-Fuqra (JUF).

Notable incidents