Last month, the mayor of San Jose made a sweeping declaration online about his city’s safety record.
Mayor Matt Mahan’s office calculated that San Jose boasted the lowest homicides per capita compared to Oakland and San Francisco in 2023. His office used state population data and reporting by NBC Bay Area, which attributed its crime statistics to the San Jose Police Department. The mayor hailed San Jose police for solving 100% of homicide cases between 2021 and 2022.
But not everyone feels this makes San Jose the safest, nor is it a proper barometer for community safety. Community leaders say there are other areas affecting safety where San Jose falls behind, such as traffic fatalities and economic hardship .
Margaret Petros, executive director of the Silicon Valley nonprofit Mothers Against Murder, advocates for families of homicide victims — but said public safety is more complex than that.
“Every other day I read a press release from the San Jose Police Department about traffic fatalities,” Petros told San José Spotlight.