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Redwood City crime statistics by year, 2019 to 2025
In 2025 the Redwood City Police Department reported 301 violent crimes and 1,200 property crimes to the state. Here are the seven years from 2019 through 2025, offense by offense, with per-resident rates and a note on the mid-2022 reporting switch that makes some year-to-year jumps hard to read.
Redwood City Crime Counts, 2019 to 2025
Figures last checked November 6, 2026. They are the Redwood City Police Department’s yearly reports as compiled by the California Department of Justice in its OpenJustice Crimes and Clearances release of July 1, 2026. That release runs through 2025; a 2026 file is expected from the state around July 2027.
| Year | Reporting basis | Violent crimes | Homicide | Rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Summary | 189 | 0 | 32 | 70 | 87 |
| 2020 | Summary | 187 | 1 | 38 | 58 | 90 |
| 2021 | Summary | 204 | 0 | 37 | 78 | 89 |
| 2022 | Mixed (switch July 1) | 312 | 2 | 41 | 99 | 170 |
| 2023 | Incident-based | 386 | 1 | 54 | 134 | 197 |
| 2024 | Incident-based | 378 | 2 | 43 | 110 | 223 |
| 2025 | Incident-based | 301 | 3 | 40 | 70 | 188 |
| Year | Property crimes | Burglary | Motor vehicle theft | Larceny-theft | Arson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,343 | 165 | 164 | 1,014 | 13 |
| 2020 | 1,489 | 240 | 279 | 970 | 11 |
| 2021 | 1,457 | 300 | 265 | 892 | 20 |
| 2022 | 1,578 | 234 | 265 | 1,079 | 15 |
| 2023 | 1,737 | 239 | 296 | 1,202 | 12 |
| 2024 | 1,297 | 95 | 204 | 998 | 22 |
| 2025 | 1,200 | 109 | 139 | 952 | 10 |
The reporting basis column matters. Redwood City police switched systems partway through 2022, so that year mixes the two methods, and every year after it uses the newer one.
Which Offenses Are Counted
Eight offenses make up the series. Four are grouped as violent crime: homicide (murder and non-negligent manslaughter), rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Three are grouped as property crime: burglary, including attempts, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft. Arson sits on a separate line and is added even when it happens alongside another offense.
For everything else, an incident with several offenses is counted once, under the most serious. The victim is the unit for homicide, rape and aggravated assault, and the incident is the unit for the other five.
Crime Rates per 100,000 People
Each rate below is our own arithmetic: the year’s reported count, divided by the Department of Finance’s January 1 population estimate for Redwood City, times 100,000. The Department of Justice does not publish these rates.
| Year | Residents (DOF, Jan 1) | Violent per 100,000 | Property per 100,000 | Burglary per 100,000 | Vehicle theft per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 83,103 | 227.4 | 1,616.1 | 198.5 | 197.3 |
| 2020 | 83,518 | 223.9 | 1,782.8 | 287.4 | 334.1 |
| 2021 | 81,611 | 250.0 | 1,785.3 | 367.6 | 324.7 |
| 2022 | 81,831 | 381.3 | 1,928.4 | 286.0 | 323.8 |
| 2023 | 82,082 | 470.3 | 2,116.2 | 291.2 | 360.6 |
| 2024 | 82,171 | 460.0 | 1,578.4 | 115.6 | 248.3 |
| 2025 | 82,109 | 366.6 | 1,461.5 | 132.8 | 169.3 |
Rates use the people who live in the city as the base. Workers, shoppers and visitors who are in Redwood City during the day are not part of that base, which is worth keeping in mind for a downtown or office property.
The Mid-2022 Switch to Incident-Based Reporting
On July 1, 2022, Redwood City police began reporting through the incident-based system (NIBRS, called CIBRS in California) in place of the older summary reports, according to the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer. The Department of Justice converts the newer reports to the old format so the years can be set side by side, but some lines still step up or down right where the method changes.
Aggravated assault is the clearest example: 89 in 2021, then 170 in 2022, the switch year. Burglary went the other way later, from 239 in 2023 to 95 in 2024. Neither move should be read as a real change in crime without other evidence, and figures from before mid-2022 and after it are not strictly comparable.
Limits of the Data
- Only crimes reported to and recorded by Redwood City police appear; unreported crime does not.
- Calls handled by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol or other agencies sit in their own records.
- The totals are for the whole city, with no breakdown by neighborhood or block.
- No 2026 numbers are shown, because the state has not released them, and city dashboard counts use other rules.
The Department of Justice sometimes revises figures after release. Everything on this page matches the July 1, 2026 file.
Using the Numbers in a Security Plan
A city table cannot tell you what happens in your parking garage at 2 a.m. Your own logs can. Put the city figures next to a year of your incident notes, footage, tenant reports and repair orders, and look for the hours and spots that keep showing up. Our coverage hours planner helps turn those hours into a guard schedule.
Steady problems during business hours suit a posted on-site security guard, while after-hours checks of doors and lots suit patrol visits. Our Redwood City security guard page covers both for properties in the city.
Get Help
Vantage officers hold BSIS guard cards and close each shift with a photo report you can set beside the city’s figures. Ask for a guard quote and the on-site review of your property comes free with it. Ask for a Redwood City quote when you are ready.
Sources and Method
- California Department of Justice, OpenJustice Crimes and Clearances (including Arson), released July 1, 2026
- Department of Finance E-4 city population estimates (2021-2026); 2011-2020 series for 2019 and 2020
- FBI Crime Data Explorer for the July 1, 2022 incident-based reporting start date
- Rate = count / January 1 population x 100,000, one decimal. All read November 6, 2026.
A few useful answers
Common questions
What is the source for Redwood City’s crime statistics?
The California Department of Justice. Its OpenJustice Crimes and Clearances file gathers the yearly offense counts Redwood City police report, and this page uses the release dated July 1, 2026, covering 2019 to 2025.
Why did aggravated assaults jump in 2022?
2022 is the year Redwood City police moved to incident-based reporting, on July 1. The count went from 89 to 170 that year, and a step that lines up with a reporting change is not by itself evidence of a real change.
Are the rates on this page official?
They are our calculation from official numbers: the state’s reported count divided by the Department of Finance’s January 1 population estimate, times 100,000. The Department of Justice publishes counts, not these rates.
Does this include incidents handled by the CHP or the sheriff?
Only incidents in the Redwood City Police Department’s own records are counted. The California Highway Patrol and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office report their incidents separately.
How can a business in Redwood City use these figures?
As background for a site plan built from your own incident records. Bring both to the free on-site security review that comes with a Vantage guard quote, and the coverage is set around your property’s hours.