Community Safety, Local Trends, and Resources in Carson, San Pedro, and Long Beach

Each year, the communities of South Bay look at crime rates, accident rates, and other measurements of safety. These numbers give us a starting point for the year to come—a way to figure out where we’re falling short, where to invest more, and where we are thriving. If you live in Carson, San Pedro, or Long Beach, keep reading to learn more about what the latest numbers say about your community or neighborhood.

If you’ve been the victim of an accident in the South Bay Area, having the right legal representation is crucial. At the Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates, our car accident lawyers represent those who have suffered injuries due to others’ negligence. Learn more about your legal options now by calling our car accident law firm at 562-216-2944.

Safety in Carson: What You Need to Know

Carson, a city of nearly 100,000, has seen fluctuations in crime and accident numbers in recent years. Let’s see what the latest data says.

Car Accident Numbers in Carson

The most recent data from the California Office of Traffic Safety is from the Carson 2022 report. In Carson, there were 325 accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities, ranking 79 out of 104. Note that in these rankings, higher numbers are better—so 104/104 would be far better than 1/104. Alcohol was involved in 17 of those crashes, and 22 pedestrians were injured in collisions. These accidents involve 15 injured bicyclists and 15 injured motorcyclists. Over 50 accidents were speed-related, and there were 70 DUI arrests during this time period. These numbers indicate a slight dip from the Carson 2021 report, where Carson ranked 85 out of 105 and had 87 DUI arrests.

Crime Statistics in Carson

In 2024, the city of Carson saw:

• 11 homicides
• 23 rapes
• 104 robberies, armed and unarmed
• 239 aggravated assaults
• 382 burglaries
• 1,513 larceny thefts
• 725 car thefts
• 16 arsons

We recognize that every single one of these numbers indicates a victim who has been left traumatized, injured, or otherwise harmed by another person’s criminal actions. Unfortunately, these numbers have barely changed from 2023, when Carson had 269 aggravated assaults, 358 burglaries, 25 rapes, and 5 homicides. While it’s good that Carson hasn’t gotten markedly more unsafe, it is concerning not to see those numbers come down.

Crime and Accident Statistics in San Pedro

As the community of San Pedro continues to take aggressive steps to keep residents safe, it’s only by looking at the numbers that we can see whether or not city officials’ efforts have been successful.

San Pedro’s Car Accidents

As a neighborhood in Los Angeles, there aren’t specific numbers solely for this area. However, we can look at accident numbers in Los Angeles as a whole and get a vision of how San Pedro is likely faring. Los Angeles had a total of 8,944 accident victims who suffered injuries or lost their lives in 2022, giving it a ranking of 14/15. While that number is high, the city’s ranking indicates that it is doing better than most cities similar to it in size. Alcohol was involved in over 1,600 of those accidents, and of these victims, 1,524 were pedestrians. This is a fairly significant portion of accident victims, especially when you consider that 475 victims were bicyclists. If two of the most vulnerable groups of road users make up such a large portion of victims, there may be issues with infrastructure or enforcement.

Speed is a serious issue in Los Angeles, with about 1,200 accidents being at least partially caused by speeding. During this timeframe, there were almost 3,200 DUI arrests in Los Angeles.

Numbers for Los Angeles haven’t changed significantly in recent years. In 2021 OTS Crash Rankings Results, Los Angeles ranked near the top when compared to cities of similar sizes. Although there were 11,202 accident victims, which would mean that 2022 was an improvement, a greater number of those were pedestrians and bicyclists. While LA is close to the top of the rankings, it has a lot of room for improvement in accident numbers.

Crime in San Pedro

Again, since San Pedro is not its own municipality, crime numbers are lumped in with Los Angeles’s numbers. The good news is that Los Angeles has seen significant improvements in crime numbers in 2024. Throughout the city, there has been a 14% reduction in homicides and a 19% decrease in shooting victims. Three of four regions of Los Angeles saw improvements in homicide numbers.

Aggravated assaults also decreased in 2024, although there were minimal changes in rapes and robberies. There was a drop in property crime, with decreases in burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts in general.

Long Beach Safety and Accident Statistics

Long Beach has continued to grow at a steady clip, but its police force has not increased at the same rate. This has led to issues both with car accident numbers and crime.

Long Beach Accident Numbers

Compared to others on this list, Long Beach has done quite poorly in terms of accident numbers. While over 3,500 people suffered injuries or lost their lives in car accidents, Long Beach ranked 3/15 when compared to cities of similar sizes. Just over 350 were pedestrians, putting Long Beach at a 2/15 ranking. Motorcyclists and bicyclists were also a relatively small portion of total accident victims.

Speed was involved in just over 10% of all injury-causing accidents in Long Beach in 2022, and there were 355 DUI arrests.

These numbers are fairly similar to what the city reported in 2021, implying that there is a lot of room for growth and improvement.

What Long Beach’s Crime Numbers Say

The city of Long Beach breaks down crime rates by month, making it easier to compare months in different years. Unfortunately, the numbers in this city are not promising. In 2024, murders increased 46%, and rapes increased 10%. However, the city did see decreases in aggravated assault and kidnapping. Rates of robbery, burglary, and embezzlement have all seen substantial increases. Areas where the city has improved include weapon law violations, prostitution, arson, and extortion. The city continues to face difficulty recruiting enough police officers to meet its needs, leading to increased crime numbers.

Resources for South Bay Residents

If you’re looking for ways to keep yourself safe and stay on top of crime and accident numbers in your community, use these resources:

• Vision Zero for Los Angeles County
• Victim Assistance Program in Los Angeles
• Long Beach Victim Services
• Women’s Issues Commission in Carson
• Los Angeles Rape and Battering Hotline

Contact the Leading South Bay Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney—Serving Carson, San Pedro, and Long Beach

If you’ve been injured in a car accident or you’re facing criminal accusations, this is not the time to take a DIY approach to your legal needs. With the Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates, you can protect your future and rights. Call our law firm at 562-216-2944 or contact us online right away.

Robin Perry

Attorney Robin D. Perry has been part of the Long Beach Community for over 25 years handling business litigation, employment litigation and advising, criminal defense, personal injury and code enforcement defense for businesses.