Indeed, the region is famous for its beautiful sandy coastline, which receives sunlight throughout the year, and the glamour associated with the film industry and young people in California. However, the region is home to over 23 million residents and thus crime cannot be an issue that does not affect residents of the region. Although people always have their reasons to move, if safety and security are the significant factors that may affect your decision about where to live in So Cal, then there are several good places to live.
Irvine
For the past years, there have been a lot of surveys and rankings that proved the city of Irvine in Orange County, California as one of the safest cities to live not only in California but in the United States as well. Nonetheless, its excellent performance in the violent and property crimes index earned it the America’s Safest City title in 2022 for cities with a population of more than 250,000 residents according to Safewise. The overall crime rate, as well as per capita rates for each category of crime, ranging from murder to assault, burglary to carjacking, are significantly lower than state and national figures.
This aspect makes Irvine a family-friendly city with excellent schools, neighborhoods, and new-age facilities, along with an adequate number of parks that help make it more livable. Other strategic measures in urban planning include fixing more cameras, putting more emergency call boxes, and ensuring that there is enough lighting in the area also helps to enhance public safety. The Irvine Police Department also employs a vast array of prevention and community Policing safety programs as well.
Murrieta
Like the aforementioned Murrieta town in Riverside County, it has also gained accolades of being among the safest places in California. Located in the I-15 corridor between LA and SD, Murrieta is a small city that has everything it needs to thrive and grow peacefully.
Murrieta grew by nearly 10,000 inhabitants in the past decade while the violent crime rate decreased to only 53 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020. Hence, while the violent crime rate in Murrieta is at 17% of the state’s average, the property crime rate is at 30% of the state average for California.
The neighborhood watch groups and partnership networks promoted by the Murrieta Police Department make Murrieta’s safety profile informative. Continued participation contributes to enhancing the enforcement and prevention approaches against problems like stealing, family violence, and traffic mishaps. The department also employs a geographic policing approach where the officers are posted in one out of four regions of the city to enhance acquaintance with patrol areas and with the community.
Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo is situated in southern Orange County in the Saddleback Valley region, which abounds in beautiful scenic landscapes. That is part of the beauty that has come from being a master-planned community which was planned with safety measures in mind at the time it was developed in the 1960s. Cul-de-sac neighborhoods have large tree-lined boulevards designed with pedestrian connectivity between residential areas of the city.
It has a population of about 96, 000 people today and although it has all the features of a modern town, it has a small feel that is attributed to its small size and good security measures. Based on the latest FBI crime statistics, in ranking of California’s safest cities, Mission Viejo is ranked in the top 20 with a violent crime rate of slightly over 2 and a property crime rate of under 10 per 1,000 residents. In comparison with criminal rates of the state and nation, those figures amount to 31 percent and 16 percent, respectively, which means that the inhabitants of Mission Viejo are not at high risk.
Thousand Oaks
Completing the list of safest cities in the southern half of the state is Thousand Oaks, a city in the southeastern part of the Ventura Country which is near the border with Los Angeles County. Thousand Oaks is one of the most sought-after cities to live in the United States, mainly because of its economic growth and the residents’ welfare. Hawaii’s overall safety significantly contributes to its high livability ratings.
The city of Thousand Oaks has a population estimated at nearly 130,000 people, the city saw only 53 violent crimes in 2020 giving it a rate of less than half the per 100,000 than the state average. It also has its property crime rate at about 30% below those of California rates in general. Thousand Oaks averages less than two burglaries a week and more than 90 percent of them solved by the police in recent years, figures that compared well with other states’ rates.
Established through taxation instruments, which fund solely the police’s core functions, the Thousand Oaks Police Department employs community-policing techniques extensively. These approaches ensure that members of the public cooperate to fight crimes, not just rely on authorities to fight them once they happen. Through partnerships such as young people engagement, neighborhood watch, and volunteers in patrol, the city of Thousand Oaks applies active citizens’ engagement in conjunction with conventional policing to increase safety and security in the city.
Finding the Right Fit
Despite the great ethnic and cultural variation in the Southern California area, which might be an obstacle in finding a good and safe place to live, there is a lot to choose from in terms of housing. Therefore, considering violent and property crime rates, trust in the community, appearances of strategic infrastructures, and proactive policing measures can all help in determining the primary contenders. An evaluation of such aspects as crime rates, population density, and the overall layout of cities such as Irvine, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, and Thousand Oaks helps to explain why these places are considered the safest in the region. Selecting a home in one of these cities means no real sacrifices for the laid-back Californian lifestyle they crave as well as the security they seek.
