City with more dead than alive has the highest theft rate in the Bay Area

The small town of Colma in California is famous for its cemeteries, the final resting place of newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Charles de Young, jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss, Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp and Baseball Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Joe DiMaggio.

Although Colma's death toll, at 1.5 million, far exceeds the number of living residents, tens of thousands of visitors flock to the city's bustling Serra and 280 Metro shopping centers and Serramonte Auto Row south of Daly City every day. And that explains another strange fact: Colma has by far the highest crime rate of any city in the Bay Area.

John Munsey, Colma's police chief for nearly four years, defends his department by saying that with so few residents, it doesn't take many thefts to drive up the crime rate per 100,000 residents. For this reason, the city's crime rate has often been the highest in the region.

“There's no other city with only 1,700 residents but so many new residents,” Munsey said. In fact, the 2020 census reports a lower population of 1,507, and that's the number the state Department of Justice uses to calculate the statewide crime rate.

But at a time when a spate of shoplifting incidents blamed on California's recent penalty-softening laws made headlines and led to a vote in November to toughen penalties, Munsey acknowledges that his city has been a target for thieves.

“Theft and drug crimes have increased since 2014,” Munsey said, referring to the year voters passed Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for drug and property crimes that were to be slightly increased by Proposition 36 on the ballot in November. “The California Police Chiefs Association supported Proposition 36.”

Colma officers were conducting a foot patrol at a store on the Colma Boulevard block. While inside the store, they observed a man leaving the store with unpaid merchandise. The store's burglary prevention officer attempted to stop the man, but he fled on foot. (Photo courtesy of Colma Police Department)

Colma officers were dispatched to a business in the 5000 block of Junipero Serra Boulevard for a report of a theft. (Photo courtesy of Colma Police Department)

Colma officers were dispatched to a business in the 600 block of Serramonte Boulevard because a person attempted to purchase a car using a fake ID. (Photo courtesy of Colma Police Department)

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Colma officers were conducting a foot patrol at a store on the Colma Boulevard block. While inside the store, they observed a man leaving the store with unpaid merchandise. The store's burglary prevention officer attempted to stop the man, but he fled on foot. (Photo courtesy of Colma Police Department)

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According to the latest data from the California Department of Justice in 2023, Colma had the highest property crime rate per 100,000 residents in the nine Bay Area counties and the third highest for violent crimes. Most of the crimes reported in Colma in 2023 – 996 – were property crimes, an increase of 194 from 2022. The 24 violent crimes in the city last year were 20 fewer than the year before.

Examples are regularly posted on the Colma Police Department's Facebook page on “Misdemeanor Mondays” and “Felony Fridays.” Recent entries include: On July 26, a 27-year-old San Francisco woman was charged with stealing $947.36 worth of merchandise from a store—a figure just under the threshold for a Proposition 47 felony. On July 26, a 45-year-old San Francisco man was arrested for attempting to purchase a car at a Colma store using an invalid ID. A few days later, on July 30, an 18-year-old Oakland man was arrested for stealing $1,844.96 worth of belts from a clothing store.

Although the total number of reported property and violent crimes (1,020) in Colma was lower than other suburbs such as Antioch (4,078), Richmond (4,798), Vallejo (6,095) and Berkeley (7,809), Colma's small population catapulted it to the top of Bay Area cities in terms of crime rate per capita.

Across the bay, Emeryville, a city of nearly 13,000, had the region's second-highest property crime rate and fourth-highest violent crime rate. And neighboring Oakland, a city of more than 440,000, had the highest violent crime rate and fourth-highest property crime rate. Both the mayor and district attorney now face recall elections in November.

“The FBI ranks us as one of the most technically dangerous cities due to crime, but Emeryville is only 1.2 square miles,” said Baylee Worthen, police officer and public information officer for the Emeryville Police Department. The city borders Oakland and its population triples during the day as people commute to jobs at companies like Peet's Coffee and Pixar Animation Studios.

This year, the department began assigning officers regular patrols to reduce officer numbers, Worthen said.

“They are encouraged to get to know the business owners and residents, to get out and walk in the parks and basketball courts in their neighborhoods,” Worthen said. “They learn about crime trends and the problems that are occurring in their respective areas.”