San Clemente in the Top 20 Safest Cities in California

San Clemente is the eighth safest city in Orange County and number 15 in the state, according to the FBI's crime statistics released a couple of weeks ago.

In the city with a population of 62,796, there were 843 reported crimes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2010 Uniform Crime Report. Only 61 were violent crimes, while the vast majority, 782, were property crimes like theft or burglary.

Those numbers work out to 13.4 crimes per 1,000 people.

Statewide, other south Orange County communities cracked the top 20: No. 8 Rancho Santa Margarita (7.9 crimes per 1,000), No. 5 Laguna Niguel (11 crimes per 1,000), No. 6 Aliso Viejo (11.3), No. 12 Mission Viejo (12.7) and No. 19 Lake Forest.

Laguna Woods ranked seventh overall and among cities under 20,000 with 6.5 crimes per 1,000 residents, many of which are part of the Leisure World community. Five of the seven safest cities have fewer than 10,000 residents.

Included in the crime report are murder, rape, robbery, assault, total property crimes, burglary, larceny-theft, auto theft and arson.

Here is a list of Orange County cities with population and crimes per 1,000:

1. Laguna Woods (18,286), 6.5)
2. Rancho Santa Margarita (49,665), 7.9
3. Laguna Niguel (64,812), 10.5
4. Aliso Viejo (41,989), 11.3
5. Villa Park (5,991), 12.7
6. Mission Viejo (94, 679), 12.7
7. Yorba Linda (66,813), 12.9
8. San Clemente (62,796), 13.4
9. Irvine (217,193), 13.4
10. Lake Forest (75,780), 13.9
11. La Palma (15,733), 14.4
12. San Juan Capistrano (35,241), 15.4
13. Laguna Hills (31,909), 17.3
14. Cypress (47,320), 18.0
15. Dana Point (35,888), 18.4
16. Placentia (50,237), 18.5
17. Orange (137,606), 19.8
18. Stanton (37,912), 21.1
19. Laguna Beach (24,147), 22.8
20. Tustin (72,982), 23.2
21. Seal Beach (24,225), 23.6
22. La Habra (59,355), 23.7
23. Santa Ana (340,240), 23.8
24. Garden Grove (166,287), 24.8
25. Fountain Valley (55,879), 25.0 (24.96)
26. Los Alamitos (11,698), 25.0 (25.04)
27. Huntington Beach (193,545), 26.5
28. Newport Beach (81,882), 28.0
29. Buena Park (79,929), 28.1
30. Anaheim (338,492), 28.5
31. Costa Mesa (110,424), 31.1
32. Westminster (89,604), 31.2
33. Fullerton (113,139), 32.1
34. Brea (38,725), 39.9