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Central Coast cities rank among least safe in California

August 31, 2016

SLO_City_Emblem_fullcolor_neutralbkgSanta Maria, San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach rank among the 30 least safe cities in California, according to a report released by a research and analysis website. The rankings are based on a variety of FBI crime metrics, and they factor in population size. [Patch]

Out of 417 cities statewide, Santa Maria ranked the 13th least safe city on the list produced by ValuePenguin.com. San Luis Obispo ranked 23rd least safe, and Pismo Beach ranked 26th least safe.

No other cities in San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara counties ranked among the 100 least safe in the state. ValuePenguin ranked the city of Reedley in Fresno County as the least safe city in California.

No cities in SLO County made the 100 safest list. Four Santa Barbara County cities made the 100 safest list: Guadalupe (24), Solvang (56), Goleta (59) and Carpinteria (60).

ValuePenguin ranked Imperial, which is located about 15 miles north of the Mexican border, as the safest city in California.

The rankings take into account property-based crimes, like burglaries and vehicle thefts, and violent crimes, such as rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Analysts retrieved the data from the most recent FBI crime report and adjusted the scores for population size. Only cities or communities with populations of at least 5,000 were included in the rankings.


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SLO county has always been and always be an enigmatic place; it seems like a great environment, but under the pretty lies what some used to call the Barrio of the Tiger.

Apologies to Dan Krieger, who coined the phrase.


Government is all over this place, and we do as it wishes. Case in point, the Administrators of this lovely land are some of the highest paid loafers in the county.


Professions like medicine and Tech – the reality is this place is too expensive for normal folk.


And then there’s the recent rash of “Aid for the homeless”, the starving, the types of things individuals are rallying in a great shriek of attention.


People are standing in lines for handouts everywhere I look. Here’s an idea; move to someplace you can afford.


Yes, it’s a messy place, and only the most rose-colored glass wearer cannot see this. And most of those bohemians live here.


I just wish everyone understood how screwed-over this place really is, instead of taking solace in one celebrity’s endorsement that this is the “happiest placein the US”.


Take more of that koolaid ?


It’s freakishly well-controlled by a freakishly big government. It appears to be peaceful, but that’s just the physical landscape.


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As a native SLOian I can tell you that 10 years ago we did not have the current level of crime rates we see now every day in this County. Robberies, carjacking, DUI’s, hit-n-runs, killings, assaults, rapes, molestions, and drug crimes have dramatically increased. All you have to do is read the papers daily about the crimes in this County. I remember as a young adult the shooting that took place in SLO, in the evening down by the Delight Bakery, where people were shot and killed. That was a death rattling experience for people in SLO County! Today, we see and hear it daily in the news, everyone is getting immune to these behaviors. What I find disturbing is that these people are arrested for their crimes and you read they were out on probation, or there was a warrant for their arrest, etc. indicating the repeat offenders keep offending and getting out of jail. Now are government is preparing and a new bill that will allow criminals released if they can’t afford bail because they are too poor to post the bail. Really! Obviously, the pansy wansy kindness method is not working so great.


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Well as a native SLOian (whatever that is) you should know that in it’s past, San Luis Obispo was known as El Barrio de Tigre — the town of the wildcat. It was one of the most ruthless and violent towns on the West Coast, with murders, robberies, and rape happening on a regular basis. However bad you might think things have gotten, it did not compare to back then.


30 years ago you might recall the massive Poly Royal Riots. 15 years ago, the Mardi Gras Riots, and I’m just getting started. Everyone remembers the past with rose colored glasses, but trust me, things have never been as good as they are now.


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Did people get raped in those riots? Are you totally ignorant of the high rate of rape in this town? And, no, it’s not all by drunk frat boys. Are you unaware of the prevalence of home breakins? That isn’t something we had in the days of the party riots you remember so fondly. No paragon of facts here. Oh, and your year counting is pretty weird too.


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Below is the link to the actual 2014 FBI crime stats, which this study uses and then EXTRAPOLATES (predicts) a crime level for cities with less than 100,000 residents. According to the FBI, El Monte (ranked #214 in safety) had 333 violent crimes while Morro Bay (ranked less safe at #235) had 50.


Ontario (ranked #293) had 431 violent crimes while San Luis Obispo (ranked less safe @ #339) had 240.


Now, some might argue that IF Morro Bay had 100,000 people (instead of approximately 10,000), it would have 10 times the crime, but that is simply not defensible, and certainly not a fair comparison to another city’s actual crime data.


This study states AS FACT that cities are safer based on this flawed methodology. Then, at the speed of light, this “FACT” is repeated and re-reported, taken at face value and used as documentation for all sorts of things, including all kinds of agendas.


https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-8/table-8-by-state/Table_8_Offenses_Known_to_Law_Enforcement_by_California_by_City_2014.xls


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Santa Maria: gangbangers and cartel crime


San Luis Obispo: hobo trash


Pismo Beach: Bakos and Fresnicks behaving badly


There is your CliffsNotes version.


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Or perhaps we could add ..


for San Luis Obispo: A concentration of college students brings..


Date rape, rape, drug use, DUI’s, Drunk in public, etc.


Which is a different demographic altogether, and the most likely contributor to those statistics for SLO.


Or would they be just too familiar, or similar to us- 20 yrs removed, to consider? Hobo’s, brown peoples, and white-trash ( 08’ers), yep them’s the only ones who could do bad.


While not denying the validity of those you’d put on your list, you’re need for a racist filter reduces the pool of potential criminals needlessly, which would distort any conclusions you’d try to draw.


….now it’s time for some Hobo stew..


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So am I looking at a different list? When I go to the ValuePenguin website, it has SLO ranked at 339 out of 416 cities. That list is ranked from safest to least safest. How does that equate to the 23rd least safe city? It’s 77th least safe, isn’t it?


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Diamond: Mexico is a country, not a race. Making comments about Mexicans is about someone legal status (and other opinions) and not racist.


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Too many L.A.liens invading our area.


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What does it say about each person who reacts to fear mongering with hate, fear, bigoted comments, to this news when the the violent crime rate has dropped immensely since 1980, 1990, 2000, etc.

The culture which believes the first thing they read on the internet is doomed.


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This is why you take statistic with a grain of salt. You can manipulate the names to any result that fits your narrative. I do know that home break ins in SLO city are up 400% or something like that. Thanks Oprah!


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Oprah?, How about putting the honor where it belongs, Thanks City Manager Katie Lichtag and Police Chief Deanna Cantrell.


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