San Diego boasts one of nation’s lowest violent crime rates

By Kristina Davis, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.

San Diego continues to rank as one of the safest big cities in the nation.

The city had the third-lowest violent crime rate among cities with populations larger than 500,000 last year, behind Honolulu and San Jose, according to FBI data released Monday.

In property crime, San Diego placed fourth-lowest. Both rankings match 2008 results.

The city’s continuing drop in crime is part of a nationwide trend that has prevailed despite widespread economic woes. San Diego police have credited it to such factors as better use of data to detect emerging crime trends, closer relationships with communities and renewed efforts to get gang leaders off the streets.

“It doesn’t surprise me,â€