San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo here: happy Friday!

Welcome to this week's Raul Roundup, your go-to source for the latest news, updates, and insights from our community and City Hall. Here’s what’s been going on this week:

San Diego Remains One of the Safest, Large Cities!

This week, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl announced an overall decrease in crime for the third consecutive year, keeping San Diego one of the safest big cities in America.

Overall crime citywide in San Diego decreased 1.5% in 2024 (after a 2.7% reduction in 2023). Data shows a decrease in over 70% of all the crimes tabulated. Crimes against persons decreased by 1.1%, and crimes against property decreased 4.7%. It’s important to note that increases in crimes against society often correlate with heightened enforcement efforts, not necessarily an increase in criminal behavior.

STATISTICS OF NOTE:

Murders decreased by 22.2%.
Sexual assault decreased 10.9%
Non-fatal shootings decreased by 57 cases.
The violent crime rate of 4.3 per thousand residents is the second lowest of large cities in the nation.
Motor vehicle thefts declined by 19.5 percent, a statistic that likely stems from our use of Smart Streetlight cameras and automated license plate reader technology, which I proudly championed and voted to implement.
Hate crime reports have decreased from 66 cases in 2023, to 60 in 2024, a 9% reduction.
- Bias against sexual orientation accounted for 40% of hate crimes in 2024
- Racial bias accounted for 37% of hate crimes in 2024.
- Bias against a religion accounted for 13% of hate crimes in 2024.

Continued thank you to all our members of SDPD for your hard work and dedication keeping the residents and visitors of San Diego safe!

Blue-eyed Grass, a native flower, is now the Official City of San Diego Flower!

The San Diego Bird Alliance, and its coalition, sought to replace the carnation with a native San Diego flower that reflects the importance of the natural environment and promotes the preservation of indigenous flora and fauna.

After months of community engagement and voting by the public, the Blue-eyed Grass is the winner. This plant has no eyes and isn’t a grass. In the Iris family, blue eyed grass is one of only two irises native to San Diego.

The City of San Diego has taken steps in recent years to promote native habitat and biodiversity through its designation as a Bee City, the Mayor’s monarch pledge, as well as Biodiverse SD and other city programs that protect native habitat.

Native flowers play an important role in the local ecosystem. They feed and shelter local wildlife, including bees, butterflies, and birds. Native flowers are adapted to the environment of San Diego, requiring less water and care to thrive.

Slow our Streets!

This week, I joined Councilmember Whitburn to announce the City of San Diego’s implementation of Assembly Bill 43 (AB43), which was brought to City Council by the Transportation Department and was unanimously approved.

AB43 codifies speed limits into the San Diego Municipal Code, and establishes 17 business activity corridors where speed limits are capped at 20 or 25 mph. It also allows the City to maintain speed limits in 72 segments, that would otherwise have been increased - known as speed creep.

Lowering speed limits by just 5 mph dramatically increases the likelihood of someone surviving a collision. Safety for all will always be more important than convenience for a few. Thank you, Councilmember Whitburn, for your tireless efforts to implement this policy in the City of San Diego and to the Transportation Department for mapping this out.

DINE OUT. END HIV

Dining Out For Life is an annual fundraising event involving the generous participation of volunteers, corporate sponsors, and restaurants. The concept is simple: Restaurants donate a generous percent of their sales to a local HIV service organization, and the local HIV service organization fills participating restaurants with diners. 

Yesterday evening, my staff and I were happy to fill a table at Sisters Pizza in Hillcrest in support of the San Diego LGBTQ+ Center who organized San Deigo’s Dining Out For Life. We can and we must continue to work to end HIV!

Connecting Older Adults with Needed Resources

On Wednesday morning, I attended Tierrasanta Village’s first ever Senior Resource Fair, which gathered healthcare, legal, community, and social resources for seniors. Events like this play a critical role in helping seniors stay connected to essential services, especially as the cost of living and age-related expenses continue to rise.

I’m grateful I had the chance to visit the fair, which I proudly funded through the Community Projects, Programs and Services (CPPS) Funding Program. An enormous thank you to the leadership at Tierrasanta Village, the sponsors, and volunteers who brought this event to life.