California’s Property Crime Rates Hit Historic Lows in 2024

Jul 4, 2025

NEW REPORT: CALIFORNIA’S PROPERTY CRIME RATE HITS HISTORIC LOWS IN 2024 

Just-released crime data shows a 7% drop in total crime and the lowest property crime rate on record in the last year before Prop 36 took effect.

SAN FRANCISCO –July 2nd, 2025 –  new report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) examines crime statistics released yesterday by California’s Department of Justice. It finds that crime fell 7% in 2024, the last full year before Proposition 36 took effect. Proposition 36, which passed in November 2024, has partially rolled back the criminal justice reforms put in place by 2014’s Proposition 47. The Proposition 36 campaign succeeded at peddling a false narrative of rising crime. Yet a decade of data, including yesterday’s release, tell a different story. Violent and property offense rates have dropped since Proposition 47 took effect. Moreover, Proposition 47 has invested a billion dollars in addressing the root causes of crime by funding treatment, housing, and employment programs. These services, which are facing cuts under Prop 36, have measurably reduced recidivism for thousands of Californians.

Reported crimes per 1,000 population, 1985-2024

Key Facts:

·    In 2024, California’s property crime rate fell to its lowest level in recorded history. 

·    Total crime fell by 7% in 2024, before Proposition 36 took effect.

·    In the decade since Proposition 47 passed, crime rates have fallen 10%, including a 15% decline in property crime. 

·    Law enforcement departments cleared (solved) just 16% of all reported crimes in 2024, including less than 10% of property crimes. 

·    Property crime solve rates plunged during much of the decade-long Prop 47 era, with improvement in 2023 and 2024.

Read the full report >>

Contact: For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact CJCJ Communications at (415) 621-5661 x. 103 or cjcjmedia@cjcj.org.