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California locales among safest of nation’s large cities

Three California cities had the lowest crime rates among the nation’s 10 largest cities in 2005, according to an Associated Press analysis of FBI statistics.

Following New York, San Jose, Calif., ranked second in the lowest number of reported crimes, with one crime per 34.46 residents. Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest city, ranked third safest, with about one crime for every 26 people. And San Diego ranked fourth, with one crime for about every 24 residents.

New York held the top ranking, with one crime per 38 residents. Police statistics show crime in that city has continued to fall this year, down 5.04 percent by Sept. 10 compared with the same period in 2005.

The large city with the highest crime rate was Dallas, with about one crime reported for every 12 people. Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix followed San Diego on the listing.

The AP’s calculation ranked cities by the total number of crimes reported per resident and did not distinguish between violent crimes and property crimes.

The national figures showed that violent crime rose 2.3 percent last year, the first increase since 2001.