**SACRAMENTO, Calif.** — Every major statewide crime rate in California declined in 2025, with the homicide rate falling to its lowest level since statewide reporting began nearly six decades ago, according to data released Tuesday by the California Department of Justice.
Saratoga, located in Silicon Valley approximately 50 miles south of San Francisco in Santa Clara County, has a population of roughly 31,000, with many residents employed by major technology companies.
Reported homicides dropped 18.6 percent between 2024 and 2025, falling from 1,666 to 1,374. The robbery rate decreased 19.9 percent, property crime fell 14.3 percent, motor vehicle theft dropped 25.8 percent — the largest percentage decline among major categories — and the violent crime rate decreased 10.2 percent.
California’s homicide rate now stands at 3.5 per 100,000 residents. Since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, the state has seen a 20 percent decline in the homicide rate, a 31 percent decline in robberies, and a 24 percent decline in property crime.
“These numbers prove that the investments in community violence intervention over recent years and the commitment to effective partnerships and collaboration between federal, state, and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and community partners are working,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.