Newport Beach crime: the official numbers
Two official sources count crime in Newport Beach, and they count it differently. The California Department of Justice (DOJ) publishes yearly totals for every police agency through OpenJustice, using the older summary categories: violent crime (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft). The Newport Beach Police Department publishes its own monthly figures in the newer NIBRS format, which counts every offense in an incident and adds categories such as fraud, vandalism and narcotics. Use one source at a time; their totals are not comparable.
| Year | Violent crimes | Aggravated assaults | Property crimes | Burglaries | Larceny-thefts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 112 | 66 | 2,181 | 394 | 1,652 |
| 2017 | 124 | 72 | 2,123 | 361 | 1,630 |
| 2019 | 135 | 69 | 1,764 | 273 | 1,344 |
| 2021 | 125 | 71 | 1,611 | 327 | 1,124 |
| 2022 | 158 | 90 | 1,751 | 360 | 1,249 |
| 2023 | 173 | 105 | 1,674 | 310 | 1,231 |
| 2024 | 206 | 139 | 1,533 | 258 | 1,153 |
| 2025 | 211 | 150 | 1,267 | 216 | 943 |
Source: California DOJ OpenJustice, Crimes and Clearances, Newport Beach Police Department. Between 2019 and 2025, reported property crime fell 28.2% and violent crime rose 56.3%, driven by aggravated assaults, which more than doubled from 69 to 150.
Newport Beach crime rate per 1,000 residents compared
We divided the DOJ's 2025 counts by the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 population estimates. Newport Beach had 2.52 violent crimes and 15.11 property crimes per 1,000 residents. All agencies in Orange County together had 2.64 violent and 13.25 property crimes per 1,000, and California as a whole had 4.34 and 17.97. So the city's violent crime rate was below the county and state rates, and its property crime rate was above the county's but below the state's. Visitors are a factor: crimes against people who do not live in the city still count, and the population figure only counts residents.
Newport Beach Police Department totals for 2023 to 2025
In the department's NIBRS figures, total recorded offenses were 4,329 in 2023, 4,413 in 2024 and 3,853 in 2025, a 12.7% drop in the last year. Larceny and theft fell from 1,170 to 960 and burglary from 262 to 220. Aggravated assaults rose slightly, from 145 to 150. Narcotics offenses, which mostly reflect police activity rather than victims, were 954. For 2026, the department's preliminary count through September was 2,435 offenses, including 640 larceny and theft offenses and 109 burglaries. The department says current-year figures are unofficial and may change.
What the Newport Beach crime numbers do and do not tell you
Crime counts measure reports, not risk to a particular home. A few things shape the Newport Beach numbers:
- Visitors. Beaches, the piers, the Fun Zone and Fashion Island draw people from across the region, and thefts and assaults involving visitors count in the city's totals.
- Retail. Shoplifting at large shopping centers adds to larceny counts in the areas where those centers are.
- Police activity. Narcotics and weapons offenses rise when officers make more stops, so they say more about enforcement than about victims.
- Small numbers. With no homicides in the DOJ data for 2025 and between 0 and 5 a year since 2015, one incident changes the percentage a great deal.
The department also reports how fast it responds. In 2025, its average response to Priority 1 calls (violent crimes in progress and life-threatening events) was 3 minutes 6 seconds over 47 calls, and to Priority 2 calls it was 5 minutes 54 seconds over 3,715 calls. We do not call any city or neighborhood safe or unsafe. These numbers are a starting point for your own checks.
Crime by police area in Newport Beach
The police department splits the city into four patrol areas and publishes crime figures for each. These are the only official figures below city level. The areas differ in size and in the number of visitors, and the department does not publish a population for each, so the totals are not rates and should not be read as a ranking.
| Police area | What it includes (per NBPD) | 2024 offenses | 2025 offenses | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 1 | Balboa Peninsula, Bay Island, Lido Isle, Cannery Village, Newport Isle, part of West Newport | 914 | 829 | -9.3% |
| Area 2 | Newport Shores, Newport Heights, Cliffhaven, Bayshores, Westcliff, Dover Shores, Santa Ana Heights and others | 1,269 | 1,043 | -17.8% |
| Area 3 | Eastbluff, Bonita Canyon, Big Canyon, Newport Center, Bayside Village, Balboa Island and others | 1,385 | 1,149 | -17.0% |
| Area 4 | Corona del Mar, Newport Coast, Spyglass Hill, Harbor View Homes | 761 | 678 | -10.9% |
Source: Newport Beach Police Department, 2025 year-to-year area comparisons, last updated January 22, 2026.
What the area figures show
Area 1 is the smallest area and, by the department's description, has the highest density of residents and visitors; it had 57 aggravated assaults in 2025, the most of the four. Area 3 includes Fashion Island and had the most larceny and theft, 357 offenses. Area 2 had the most narcotics offenses, 346. Area 4 is the largest area with the lowest density, and it was the only one where offenses against persons rose in 2025, from 120 to 156, while its property offenses fell 14.5%. Each area page also has a monthly spotlight. In September 2026, for example, Area 1 reported 2 bike thefts against 5 a year earlier.
How to check crime near a Newport Beach address
Newport Beach Police Department area statistics
Find which of the four areas your address is in on the department's Who We Serve pages, then open that area's current-year and prior-year statistics. Compare the same months year to year, since summer brings more visitors.
Newport Beach police calls for service dashboard
The department publishes a calls for service dashboard, with a walkthrough video, on its website. Calls include noise, parking and disturbance reports as well as crimes, so it shows activity on a block rather than crime alone. It is useful for checking a street near the beach or a busy commercial strip.
Newport Notified alerts
The department sends crime alerts, traffic advisories and emergency notices, including tsunami and evacuation alerts, through Newport Notified, which replaced Nixle in April 2024. Sign up for text or email alerts before you move in. The Crime Prevention Unit (949-644-3699) can also tell you whether a Neighborhood Watch group is active on your street.
California DOJ OpenJustice
OpenJustice has yearly crime and clearance counts for the Newport Beach Police Department back to 1985, and the same data for nearby cities such as Costa Mesa, Irvine and Huntington Beach. Use it to compare long-term trends on the same definitions.
FBI Crime Data Explorer
The FBI's Crime Data Explorer shows the department's NIBRS submissions and lets you compare agencies nationally. Check the years listed as complete before you compare.
California Megan's Law website
The state's Megan's Law site maps registered sex offenders by address. Search the address you are considering and the streets around it.
Flood, fire and landslide are risks too
For a home, natural hazards can cost more than crime. The city's 2050 General Plan Safety Element publishes maps of coastal flood risk citywide and in Newport Harbor, FEMA flood zones, landslide zones, liquefaction zones and fire hazard severity zones. Check the address on each, then read the seller's natural hazard disclosure. Beach and harbor homes are the ones to check for flood and tsunami exposure; hillside homes in Newport Coast, Harbor View and near canyons are the ones to check for fire and slope.
Insurance pricing reflects these maps more than crime. Get quotes early, and read our California homeowners insurance guide and California wildfire zones guide.
A checklist before you buy or rent in Newport Beach
- Find the police area for the address and read its last two years of statistics.
- Open the calls for service dashboard for the block, especially near beaches, piers and shopping centers.
- Visit at night and on a summer weekend.
- Search the Megan's Law site for the address.
- Check the flood, fire and landslide maps in the General Plan Safety Element.
- Ask the HOA, if there is one, about gates, patrols and recent incidents.
- Sign up for Newport Notified.
For the areas themselves, see our Newport Beach neighborhoods guide, and for a statewide view, the safest places to live in California guide. You can also go back to our Newport Beach guide.