Los Gatos crime by year: the California DOJ counts
The California Department of Justice publishes the crimes each police agency reports, by year, in its Crimes and Clearances file. The row for Los Gatos covers incidents handled by the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department inside the Town of Los Gatos. The DOJ lists Monte Sereno on its own row, so the two cities are counted separately even though one department serves both. These are the Los Gatos counts from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Violent crimes | Property crimes | Burglaries | Residential burglaries | Thefts from vehicles | Shoplifting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 31 | 701 | 149 | 95 | 233 | 53 |
| 2016 | 21 | 616 | 139 | 83 | 158 | 41 |
| 2017 | 14 | 431 | 70 | 40 | 121 | 42 |
| 2018 | 10 | 459 | 58 | 33 | 189 | 30 |
| 2019 | 14 | 419 | 57 | 28 | 176 | 34 |
| 2020 | 20 | 406 | 103 | 44 | 129 | 24 |
| 2021 | 36 | 630 | 123 | 63 | 183 | 27 |
| 2022 | 54 | 578 | 111 | 41 | 102 | 52 |
| 2023 | 45 | 544 | 67 | 36 | 142 | 79 |
| 2024 | 47 | 456 | 70 | 34 | 101 | 79 |
| 2025 | 31 | 415 | 88 | 58 | 84 | 67 |
Property crime is the larger number every year, and it has fallen over the decade: 701 in 2015, 415 in 2025, a drop of 41%. Violent crime is a small count that moves a lot from year to year. It was 10 in 2018, rose to 54 in 2022, and was 31 in 2025.
Los Gatos violent crimes in 2025, by type
Of the 31 violent crimes reported in 2025, 14 were aggravated assaults, 11 were robberies and 6 were rapes. There were no homicides in 2024 or 2025; the DOJ file shows 2 in 2023 and none in the five years before that. With counts this small, one or two incidents change the rate noticeably, so look at several years, not one.
Los Gatos property crimes in 2025, by type
The 415 property crimes break down into 299 larceny-thefts, 88 burglaries and 28 vehicle thefts. Within the thefts, the largest groups were thefts from vehicles (84), the DOJ's catch-all "all other" larceny (72), shoplifting (67), thefts of vehicle parts (23), thefts from buildings (22) and bicycle thefts (16). Of the 88 burglaries, 58 were of homes and 30 were of other buildings such as shops and offices.
The biggest changes: car break-ins down, shoplifting up
Thefts from vehicles fell from 233 in 2015 to 84 in 2025. Home burglaries fell from 95 to 58 over the same years, though 2025 was up from 34 in 2024. Shoplifting went the other way, from 53 in 2015 to 79 in both 2023 and 2024 and 67 in 2025, which points to the downtown and Los Gatos Boulevard retail strips rather than residential streets. The file does not give locations, so that is a reading of the categories, not a mapped fact.
Los Gatos cases cleared in 2025
A case counts as cleared when an arrest is made or it is closed by exceptional means. In 2025 the department cleared 15 of 31 violent crimes (48%) and 33 of 415 property crimes (about 8%).
Los Gatos crime rates compared with nearby cities and California
To compare places of different sizes, we divided each 2025 DOJ count by the population in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates and multiplied by 1,000. Los Gatos had 32,786 residents on that measure.
| Place | Violent crimes 2025 | Property crimes 2025 | Violent per 1,000 | Property per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Gatos | 31 | 415 | 0.9 | 12.7 |
| Monte Sereno | 0 | 16 | 0.0 | 4.6 |
| Saratoga | 20 | 146 | 0.7 | 4.8 |
| Campbell | 150 | 1,037 | 3.5 | 24.2 |
| California (all agencies) | 170,397 | 705,925 | 4.3 | 18.0 |
On these figures Los Gatos reports about a fifth of the state's violent crime rate and about 70% of its property crime rate. It reports more crime per resident than its smaller hillside neighbors, Saratoga and Monte Sereno, and less than Campbell. A town with a regional shopping and dining district draws visitors whose thefts and incidents are counted here but who are not in the population figure, which pushes the per-resident rate up. Monte Sereno's rates rest on very small counts (0 and 16), so treat them as a rough guide.
What the Los Gatos figures cover, and what they miss
The DOJ file counts crimes reported to police under the state's summary definitions. Violent crime is homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime is burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft; arson is reported separately. Simple assaults, vandalism, fraud and identity theft are not in these totals. Crimes nobody reports are missing too.
The file is citywide. It has no street, beat or neighborhood breakdown, so it cannot tell you how one Los Gatos street compares with another, and we do not try to rank areas within the town. The file runs through 2025. For anything more local or more recent, use the tools below.
How to check crime near a Los Gatos address
The Town's police Transparency and Data page lists where current activity is published. Use these together, and look at a full year of history rather than a single week.
The LGMSPD CrimeGraphics portal
The Transparency and Data page links to the department's CrimeGraphics site for contemporaneous police activity, crime maps and arrest logs. Search a radius around the address and set the date range to twelve months, so a single busy week does not mislead you.
Public records requests to the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police
For a specific incident, the same page explains how to make a California Public Records Act request. Victims, insurers and people with property damage can get more detail on burglary, theft, vandalism and similar reports than the general public. The department's 24-hour non-emergency line is (408) 354-8600.
Town police reports to the Council
The department has published periodic Police Services reports to the Town Council, for example for January to August 2022 and July to December 2022, linked from the Transparency and Data page. They describe call volumes and trends in more detail than the DOJ file.
Megan's Law and the FBI Crime Data Explorer
The California DOJ's Megan's Law website maps registered sex offenders by address. The FBI Crime Data Explorer republishes agency data reported to the FBI, which helps if you are comparing Los Gatos with places outside California.
Los Gatos police programs that affect homeowners
A few Town rules and programs matter once you own a home here.
- Alarm permits. Under Ordinance 2375, every home alarm needs a permit, including self-monitored systems such as Ring or Google devices and unmonitored alarms. The Town lists the fee as $95 a year. One false alarm is free in each six-month period; after that the fine is $175 per false alarm. A permit does not transfer when you move within town.
- Los Gatos On Watch. You can register home security cameras with the department for free, so officers can ask for footage after a crime. Basic registration only lets officers ask for footage after a crime; a separate Community Protecht option can share a live camera feed with first responders during emergencies.
- License plate cameras. The department says it has 17 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras around Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, and publishes a Flock transparency portal.
- Neighborhood Watch. The department's community outreach coordinator helps neighbors start a Watch group, and the Town keeps a map of existing groups.
Wildfire and other hazard checks for a Los Gatos home
For many Los Gatos buyers, wildfire is a bigger property risk than crime, and it drives insurance cost and availability.
Wildfire hazard zones in Los Gatos
The Town says southern Los Gatos is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. In June 2025 the Town Council adopted the State Fire Marshal's map of fire hazard severity zones for the Town's local responsibility area (Ordinance 2374). Look up the parcel on the State Fire Marshal's map before you write an offer, because a zone triggers defensible-space rules, building standards for new work and a disclosure. The Town was added to the state's 2026 Fire Risk Reduction Community list in July 2026. See our California wildfire zones guide and FAIR Plan guide if quotes are hard to get.
Evacuation and alerts in Los Gatos
The Town points residents to AlertSCC for emergency alerts and to Genasys Protect to find their evacuation zone. It is also preparing a town-wide evacuation plan with Monte Sereno. Hillside streets with one way in and out are worth driving before you buy.
Flood and earthquake checks in Los Gatos
Check the FEMA flood map for homes near Los Gatos Creek and its tributaries, and Cal OES MyHazards for earthquake fault and landslide zones, which matter on the steeper lots. The seller's natural hazard disclosure covers all of these; our seller disclosure guide explains what it must include.
Before you buy or rent in Los Gatos: a short checklist
- Pull twelve months of activity around the address on the CrimeGraphics portal.
- Read the DOJ trend above for the town as a whole, not one year.
- Check the Megan's Law map.
- Look up the fire hazard zone, flood zone and earthquake zones for the parcel.
- Get a homeowners insurance quote before you remove contingencies.
- Budget the $95 alarm permit if the home has an alarm.
- Visit the street at night and on a weekend.
For prices and areas, see Los Gatos neighborhoods and the Los Gatos guide. For a statewide view, see crime rates across California.