Crime in San Diego dropped for the fourth year in a row in 2025, decreasing more than 6% compared with 2024, according to city leaders. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl and Mayor Todd Gloria touted the new data, highlighting significant declines in several major crime categories despite ongoing staffing shortages within the department. The downward trend mirrors patterns seen in other large cities across the United States. Among the most notable changes, murder fell 25% — reaching what the police chief called the lowest levels since the 1960s. Kidnapping dropped 18%, and motor vehicle theft decreased 22%. The police chief credited the decline in car thefts in part to the city’s use of controversial license plate readers, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining public confidence. “Trust is our number one priority and will always be our number one priority,” Wahl said. “There are always going to be issues or things that challenge our trust, that’s why it has to be our top priority.” While overall crime trended downward, officials reported increases in drug violations and loitering or vagrancy. The San Diego Police Department attributed those upticks to increased enforcement following the passage of Proposition 36, which changed penalties for crimes such as drug infractions and retail theft. “That increased enforcement for now is a good thing. We see that as a positive step forward,” Wahl said. The police chief said he hopes those numbers eventually stabilize as enforcement efforts continue. Not everyone agrees with the approach. One group that opposed Prop 36 said incarceration rates are already rising and warned that increased spending on jails could undermine long-term crime prevention strategies. “When we are incarcerating more people at a very high cost to state taxpayers, the available money to invest in this crime prevention infrastructure that we have spent the last decade or so in California building begins to go away, and that infrastructure begins to get diminished, right?” Will Matthews with Californians for Safety and Justice said. Gang crime overall is down, according to the data, though violent gang crime has increased. Gloria said San Diego is receiving additional grant funding from the state to support violence intervention programs — a priority he said is especially important during a challenging budget year. “A big city can be a safe city,” Gloria said. Wahl said the department’s goal is to continue the momentum and reach five consecutive years of declining crime. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less