Temecula crime rate: the official counts, 2016 to 2025
Police agencies in California report crimes to the state Department of Justice (DOJ), which publishes them on OpenJustice. Temecula appears in that file as its own agency, even though its police are deputies of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. The table shows violent and property crimes recorded for Temecula in the DOJ's Crimes and Clearances file for 1985 to 2025, published in July 2026.
| Year | Violent crimes | Property crimes |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 145 | 2,587 |
| 2017 | 117 | 2,614 |
| 2018 | 139 | 2,711 |
| 2019 | 166 | 2,626 |
| 2020 | 148 | 2,262 |
| 2021 | 150 | 2,359 |
| 2022 | 175 | 2,651 |
| 2023 | 189 | 2,367 |
| 2024 | 168 | 1,862 |
| 2025 | 172 | 1,465 |
Temecula's 2025 crime counts in detail
The 172 violent crimes recorded in 2025 were 120 aggravated assaults, 42 robberies, 7 rapes and 3 homicides. The 1,465 property crimes were 1,177 larceny-thefts, 148 burglaries and 140 motor vehicle thefts. The file also lists 10 arsons. Larceny, which covers shoplifting, theft from vehicles and similar offenses, made up 80% of the property total.
The trend since 2019
Property crime fell from 2,626 in 2019 to 1,465 in 2025, a drop of 44.2%, and 2025 was the lowest year in the ten-year table. It also fell 21.3% from 2024 to 2025. Violent crime moved in a narrower range: 166 in 2019, a high of 189 in 2023 and 172 in 2025, so it was 3.6% above 2019 and 2.4% above 2024. Over the same 2019 to 2025 period, the DOJ file shows violent crime down 7.5% and property crime down 33.6% across all agencies in Riverside County, and statewide violent crime down 1.6% and property crime down 22.9%.
Temecula crime rate per 100,000 residents, compared
Raw counts mislead when cities differ in size, so we converted the 2025 DOJ counts to rates per 100,000 residents. The population figures are the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates: 111,167 for Temecula, 112,064 for Murrieta, 110,305 for Menifee, 2,478,600 for Riverside County and 39,287,377 for California. The DOJ's own rate tables may use slightly different population figures.
| Area (2025) | Violent crimes | Violent per 100,000 | Property crimes | Property per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temecula | 172 | 155 | 1,465 | 1,318 |
| Murrieta | 211 | 188 | 949 | 847 |
| Menifee | 202 | 183 | 948 | 859 |
| Riverside County, all agencies | 6,949 | 280 | 38,488 | 1,553 |
| California, all agencies | 170,397 | 434 | 705,925 | 1,797 |
On these figures, Temecula's violent crime rate is a little over half the county rate and about a third of the state rate, and lower than its two neighbors of similar size. Its property crime rate is about 15% below the county's and about 27% below the state's, but higher than Murrieta's or Menifee's. The next section explains one likely reason the property figure sits where it does.
What Temecula's crime numbers do and do not measure
Crimes are counted where they happen, not where offenders live
Temecula is a regional shopping, dining and wine-tourism destination for southwest Riverside County and north San Diego County. The city's police page lists a dedicated Promenade Mall team and substations at the Promenade Mall and in Old Town. Thefts at stores, parking lots and visitor areas are recorded in Temecula's totals even though many of the people involved, on either side, do not live in the city. That is one reason a per-resident property rate can run higher here than in neighboring cities with fewer regional retail centers.
Reported crime is not all crime
The DOJ file counts offenses reported to police. Some crimes, such as theft from vehicles or package theft, often go unreported, and reporting habits differ between places. A change in counts can reflect staffing, enforcement priorities or reporting systems as well as a change in crime. Compare several years before reading much into a single one.
Clearances: how many cases were closed
The same file records clearances, meaning offenses closed by an arrest or by exceptional means. In 2025 Temecula recorded 107 violent clearances against 172 violent crimes, about 62%, and 252 property clearances against 1,465 property crimes, about 17%. Statewide in 2025 the file shows about 46% of violent and 11% of property crimes cleared. Clearances in a year can include crimes reported in earlier years, so treat these as rough ratios.
Why this page does not rank the safest neighborhoods in Temecula
No official dataset publishes crime rates by Temecula neighborhood. The DOJ and the FBI report at the agency level, so the smallest official unit is the whole city. Websites that grade Harveston, Redhawk, Wolf Creek or Paloma del Sol for safety are modeling figures that no police agency publishes, and those grades can steer buyers for reasons that have nothing to do with a home. We report only what an official source supports. To see activity on the streets around a specific address, use the map tools below and look at several months, not a single week.
How to check crime near a Temecula address
CrimeReports map, linked by the Riverside County Sheriff
The Sheriff's crime page points residents to the CrimeReports website for crime and registered sex offender data in areas the Sheriff patrols, which include Temecula, and for other agencies in the county. You type in an address, choose any 30-day window within the prior six months and pick the crime types to show. The Sheriff notes that recent incidents can take 5 to 10 days to appear, so the latest week will look quieter than it was.
Temecula Police Department and the Southwest Sheriff's Station
The City of Temecula contracts with the Sheriff for police services. The Southwest Station, at 30755 Auld Road, Suite A, in Murrieta, serves the city along with unincorporated areas such as French Valley, Wolf Valley and De Luz. The city's police page lists the non-emergency line, 951-696-HELP (4357) for Temecula residents, and says the department staffs about one officer per 1,063 residents. Copies of police reports are requested through the station at 951-696-3000; the substations page explains pickup at the Old Town or Promenade Mall substation for a $25 fee.
Check the address is inside the city
Temecula's ZIP codes hold about 127,000 people in Census figures, more than the city's 111,167, so a Temecula mailing address can sit outside city limits. Unincorporated communities nearby, such as French Valley and Wolf Valley, are patrolled by the Sheriff directly rather than under the city contract, and their incidents are not in the city's DOJ counts. Confirm the jurisdiction on the county's parcel records before you rely on city figures.
California DOJ OpenJustice
OpenJustice is the best source for long-term trends, with yearly crimes, clearances and arrests back to 1985 and the same definitions for every agency. Use it to compare Temecula with Murrieta, Menifee or Lake Elsinore on equal terms.
FBI Crime Data Explorer
The FBI's Crime Data Explorer shows national reporting data by agency, with rates per 100,000 and state and national comparisons. Check which months an agency reported in full before comparing years.
California Megan's Law website
The DOJ's Megan's Law site lets you search registered sex offenders near an address. Run the search yourself for any home you are considering.
Fire, flood and evacuation: the other risks to check in Temecula
For most owners, a natural hazard costs more than a crime, and these risks are mapped down to the parcel.
Temecula fire hazard severity zones
After CAL FIRE's update on March 24, 2025, the City of Temecula published new Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for the areas it is responsible for, rating land as Very High, High or Moderate. The city's fire hazard map page has an interactive version you can search by address, alongside the prior 2009 map. A higher zone brings building and defensible-space rules, must be disclosed at sale, and affects insurance. Our California wildfire zones guide explains what each rating means.
Murrieta Creek flooding and Old Town
The city's Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project page says Phase 2B construction would raise flood protection, including for Old Town Temecula, to a 50-year level from the current 10-year level. The completed project is designed for 100-year protection along 8 miles of channel. For any home near Murrieta Creek or Temecula Creek, look up the parcel on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and get a flood insurance quote, since a standard homeowners policy excludes flood.
Evacuation zones and Temecula Alert
The city's Know Your Zone page asks every resident to find their evacuation zone, and Temecula ALERT sends emergency messages by phone, text and email. Look up the zone for a home before you buy, and register once you move in.
Earthquake and combined hazard lookups
Cal OES MyHazards shows earthquake, flood and fire hazards for an address in one search. Earthquake damage is not covered by a standard homeowners policy; see our earthquake insurance guide.
Sellers must give you a Natural Hazard Disclosure statement; our seller disclosure guide covers it. For premiums and availability, see the homeowners insurance guide and the FAIR Plan guide.
A checklist before you buy or rent in Temecula
- Confirm whether the address is inside Temecula city limits or in an unincorporated area such as French Valley.
- Look at the CrimeReports map around the home across several 30-day windows.
- Drive the street on a weekday evening and a weekend, and note distance to busy retail corridors.
- Search the Megan's Law site for the address.
- Check the city's fire hazard map, FEMA's flood map and the home's evacuation zone.
- Get insurance quotes before you remove your contingencies.
- If there is an HOA, ask about gates, patrols and any recent incident reports at its meetings.
For prices, schools and areas, see our Temecula neighborhoods guide, the Temecula schools page and the Temecula area guide. For a statewide comparison built on the same DOJ data, see California cities by crime rate.