Violent and property crimes in Ramona drop in first half of 2013, report shows

Thursday, Sept. 12—

After an increase in 2012, the violent crime rate in San Diego County dropped by 6 percent and in Ramona by 38 percent in the first half of 2013 compared to the same period last year, according to a report released today by San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

While county-wide the mid-year property crime rate continued to climb with a 4 percent increase in the first six months of 2013, in Ramona property crimes dropped during by 49 percent, from 309 to 157 incidents.

“Our crime rate in Ramona is the lowest in 10 years,” Lt. James Bovet of the sheriff’s Ramona station said last month.

”The turnaround in violent crime is positive news for the San Diego region,” said SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Director Dr. Cynthia Burke. “We know from our work with our law enforcement partners that even in the era of shrinking budgets, they have continued to direct resources to fight the most serious crimes.”

Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The mid-year violent crime rate county-wide was 3.46 per 1,000 residents, the second lowest in the past 10 years.

A total of 5,431 violent crimes were reported to local law enforcement between January and June 2013. In Ramona, 37 violent crimes were reported in the first half of 2013, representing 2.05 per 1,000 residents, compared to 60 violent crimes during that time period in 2012, or 3.33 per 1,000 residents.

Property crimes — petty and grand theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft — rose county-wide midyear from 21.39 per 1,000 residents to 22.28 but in Ramona dropped by 17.15 per 1,000 residents to 8.71 for mid-year 2013.

County-wide, the only property crime to show a drop was motor vehicle theft, said the report.

The report shows Ramona’s population for 2012/13 is 36,037, a 2 percent increase since 2009.