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Figure 2.7
from Irvine at 50: A Tale of Continuity and Change
by University of California, Irvine - School of Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine, School of Social Ecology Irvine at 50: A Tale of Continuity and Change • November 1 2021
Figure 2.7
How does Irvine compare to other cities when it comes to homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault? Figure 2.7 adjusts the crime rates once again such that 100 indicates the average U.S. city with at least 25,000 population. Except for aggravated assault in the late 1970s, Irvine consistently has violent crime rates just 40%--or less—that of an average city. During the 2000s and 2010s, Irvine’s aggravated assault rate fell to just 20% and even 10% that of an average city. Thus, for every aggravated assault incident in Irvine in the last two decades, there were 5 to 10 in an average city. Irvine’s adjusted robbery rate has consistently stayed between 20%-40% of an average city, and the adjusted homicide rate has generally been just 10%-35% of an average city. Recall that in Figure 2.5 we saw that Irvine experienced an increase in homicides in the late 1970s; this plot makes clear that even at the peak in 1980, Irvine’s homicide rate was not even 40% that of an average U.S. city.
