LOS ANGELES – (INT) - Four annual reports on crime and juvenile justice in California show an overall drop in crime rates in the state.

Crime in California, 2014

• The homicide rate decreased 4.3 percent in 2014; total of 1,697 homicides in the state

• The robbery rate decreased 10.0 percent in 2014; total of 48,650 robberies in the state

• The aggravated assault rate increased 2.4 percent in 2014; total of 91,681 aggravated assaults in the state

• There were a total of 1,212,845 arrests in the state in 2014; the lowest since 1969

• There were 9,397 rapes reported in 2014

• In 2014, the California Department of Justice initiated collection of rape data utilizing the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s revised definition of rape. Under previous crime reports, data was only collected and reported on “forcible rape,” which did not account for all instances of rape, including those committed against male victims. In 2013, the FBI revised the definition from “forcible rape” to “rape,” defined as penetration without the consent of the victim. Since an updated definition was adopted this year, 2014 data is not comparable to data reported in previous years.

Hate Crime in California, 2014

• 8.7 percent

• Hate crime events decreased 12.2 percent

• Hate crime events involving a race/ethnicity/national origin bias decreased 15.7 percent
Homicide in California, 2014

• Homicides decreased 2.8 percent in 2014; there were 1,697 homicides reported statewide in 2014

• In cases where the murder weapon was identified, 70.4 percent involved a firearm

• Five peace officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty

• There were 152 justifiable homicides as reported by local law enforcement; 116 committed by a peace officer and 36 committed by a private citizen

Juvenile Justice in California, 2014

• In 2014, there were 86,823 juvenile arrests in California with 80.4 percent referred to probation departments, 18.5 percent counseled and released and 1.1 percent turned over to another agency

• Juvenile probation departments received 101,531 cases in 2014 with 88.8 percent coming from law enforcement referrals; of those 0.5 percent (474) resulted in direct file into adult court.

Story Date: July 5, 2015