Crime Trends in the City of East Palo Alto (Report)

This report presented a comprehensive analysis of crime in East Palo Alto (EPA) to increase knowledge about the scope and nature of crime in the City. The intent was to help City leaders, community groups, and the residents of East Palo Alto make more informed and empirically-based decisions about how to improve public safety. Included in this report was an examination of crime in the City over the last few decades and comparisons between East Palo Alto and California to understand what has happened in the City in the context of what has happened in the rest of the State. 

A few questions that were addressed in this report included: 

• What have been the overall crime trends in the City since the mid-1980s?
• What types of crimes have increased during this period? What types of crimes have decreased during this period?
• How do the trends in the City compare to the rest of the State?
• What are the demographic profiles and criminal backgrounds of both homicide victims and known homicide victims and how do they compare to one another?
• Has the level of shootings changed over time?
• When are shootings most likely to occur? 

The analyses presented in this report were based on data from many different sources including the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System, the East Palo Alto Police Department, and the San Mateo Public Safety Communications Division.