Crime & Safety
Capistrano Lands Among Top 15 Safest O.C. Cities
A report from the FBI shows San Juan Capistrano is No. 12, behind neighboring San Clemente and Laguna Niguel.
Although there's more crime here than some neighboring towns, San Juan Capistrano still outpaces most cities when it comes to being among the safest in the county.
With a population of 35,241, it ranks No. 12 as the safest city in Orange County, with 15.4 crimes per 1,000 residents. There were 41 violent crimes and 348 property crimes in 2010, according to the latest Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report.
San Juan Capistrano also lands among the safest California cities with populations between 30,000 and 40,000. It stands at No. 3 behind the Northern California towns of Walnut and Saratoga.
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A June 2010 Capistrano murder discovered just this summer, however, is not included in the FBI's crime data. In August, authorities .
Laguna Woods takes the top spot countywide. It ranked seventh overall among cities under 20,000 with 6.5 crimes per 1,000 residents, many of which are part of the Leisure World community.
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Statewide, other south Orange County communities cracked the top 20: No. 5 Laguna Niguel (11 crimes per 1,000), No. 6 Aliso Viejo (11.3), No. 12 Mission Viejo (12.7), No. 15 San Clemente (13.4) and No. 19 Lake Forest.
Included in the crime report are murder, rape, robbery, assault, total property crimes, burglary, larceny-theft, auto theft and arson. Five of the state's seven safest cities have fewer than 10,000 residents.
Here is a list of Orange County cities with population and crimes per 1,000:
- Laguna Woods (18,286), 6.5
- Rancho Santa Margarita (49,665), 7.9
- Laguna Niguel (64,812), 10.5
- Aliso Viejo (41,989), 11.3
- Villa Park (5,991), 12.7
- Mission Viejo (94, 679), 12.7
- Yorba Linda (66,813), 12.9
- San Clemente (62,796), 13.4
- Irvine (217,193), 13.4
- Lake Forest (75,780), 13.9
- La Palma (15,733), 14.4
- San Juan Capistrano (35,241), 15.4
- Laguna Hills (31,909), 17.3
- Cypress (47,320), 18.0
- Dana Point (35,888), 18.4
- Placentia (50,237), 18.5
- Orange (137,606), 19.8
- Stanton (37,912), 21.1
- Laguna Beach (24,147), 22.8
- Tustin (72,982), 23.2
- Seal Beach (24,225), 23.6
- La Habra (59,355), 23.7
- Santa Ana (340,240), 23.8
- Garden Grove (166,287), 24.8
- Fountain Valley (55,879), 25.0 (24.96)
- Los Alamitos (11,698), 25.0 (25.04)
- Huntington Beach (193,545), 26.5
- Newport Beach (81,882), 28.0
- Buena Park (79,929), 28.1
- Anaheim (338,492), 28.5
- Costa Mesa (110,424), 31.1
- Westminster (89,604), 31.2
- Fullerton (113,139), 32.1
- Brea (38,725), 39.9
— Jenna Chandler contributed to this report.
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