What city would be comparable to National City in either total population or demographics?
La Mesa is similar in total population. San Marcos or Vista are similar in demographics. The other cities don’t have the same things we have, for example we have Interstate 5, the bayfront, state Route 54, Interstate 805. With all the freeways coming through here, criminals can be very mobile. We’re less than seven miles from the international border. So we get a lot of traffic that a community like La Mesa might not see. Vista and San Marcos have some freeway similarities but are more removed from the border. Del Mar is similar, particularly with the Del Mar Fair attracting outside visitors. This year La Mesa had a higher crime rate than National City. And Del Mar had a higher property crime rate. That has not gotten a lot of media play, however. National City over the past four or five years has had double-digit decreases in crime every year. So in terms of actual crime rates, crimes per 1,000 population, Del Mar actually had a property crime rate higher than National City. La Mesa a
