Safety index · San Diego · data through August 2026
Is Serra Mesa safe?
Serra Mesa shows a typical level of reported crime for San Diego. Its SafeRoute safety index is 60 out of 100 — 7 points above the citywide median of 53, ranking 24th of 53 San Diego communities — based on 83 incidents reported to the San Diego Police within 1 km of the community center over the 7 months to August 2026.
DATA THROUGH AUGUST 2026 · 7 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to San Diego — a typical San Diego community sits near 53. It ranks Serra Mesa against other communities here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
The largest reported category here is violent crime (22% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Reported incidents here skew to daytime and evening hours — only about 0% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Violent crime | 18 · 22% | |
| Other theft | 22 · 27% | |
| Public order | 10 · 12% | |
| Other | 18 · 22% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 6 · 7% | |
| Vehicle crime | 8 · 10% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Serra Mesa at night?
SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same live crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Pick the safer way, share your walk, and check in when you arrive. Free, no account.
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Common questions
Is Serra Mesa safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 60/100). About 0% of severity-weighted incidents in Serra Mesa are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.
What is the most common crime in Serra Mesa?
Violent crime — 18 of 83 incidents (22%) reported within 1 km of the community center over the 7 months to August 2026.
How is the Serra Mesa safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the San Diego Police Department by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the community center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within San Diego, so scores compare communities to each other and cannot be read against another city's.