Sacramento, California – California has brought down crime in nearly every major category. Based on data released by the California Department of Justice, nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024.

California’s 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966. The overall number of homicides in California decreased by nearly 12% since 2023.

The state’s homicide rates have historically been lower than those in many other states. According to CDC data from 2022, the latest year available for all states, Alabama’s homicide rate was 152% higher than California’s, Oklahoma’s was 41% higher and Arkansas’ was 100% higher.

In 2024, nearly every major crime category declined, including violent crime, property crime, homicides, aggravated assaults, motor vehicle theft, burglary, and robbery. In addition, total full-time criminal justice personnel increased 1.9% from 2023 to 2024.

Since 2019, property crime, arson, burglary, and robbery have all decreased in California. Burglary rate decreased 18.8% from 2019 to 2024, the largest decrease of all categories. During that same time period, property crime rate decreased 9.1%, arson rate decreased 8.7%, and robbery rate decreased 9.6%.