Crime & Safety
Santee Sees Big Jump in Violent Crime in First Half of 2012
A new SANDAG report shows reports of rape up by a multiple of six and assault up 62 percent in Santee.
The crime rate in Santee rose in the first half of 2012 compared to the first six months of 2011, following a countywide trend, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) announced Wednesday.
Santee's 2012 mid-year crime rate fell below the average for the county, with 22.25 crimes reported out of every 1,000 residents in Santee, an 18 percent rise from the , but down 10 percent compared to 2008.
The violent crime rate in Santee jumped a whopping 42 percent compared to the 2011 mid-year numbers. The 88 violent crimes reported is the highest since 2008. This includes a significant jump in the number of rapes, from one in the 2011 mid-year report to six in 2012, and assaults, up from 39 to 63.
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Santee's violent crime rate saw one of the largest jumps in the county, but at 3.22 crimes per 1,000 residents, it falls below the county average.
As for Santee's property crime rate, it's up 15 percent from last year's mid-year rate, but down compared to 2008, with the number of burglaries and larcenies up.
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Regionally, the average mid-year violent crime rate rose 8 percent, while the property rate climbed 7 percent in the year-over-year comparison, according to the SANDAG. Though higher than last year's mid-year crimes rates, this year's tallies are lower countywide than any year between 2003 and 2010.
It's too early to tell if this year's uptick is temporary or if it's the beginning of a trend, according to Cynthia Burke, director of criminal justice research for SANDAG.
"We have enjoyed historic lows in crime rates over the past decade, so it's not entirely surprising that the numbers are now going up," Burke said in a statement.
According to SANDAG, a total of 5,808 violent crimes were reported to law enforcement in the county between January and June, 88 in Santee.
The agency said that of the 33,599 property crimes reported countywide in the first half of this year, 520 in were in Santee.
-City News Service contributed to this report
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