06 December 2011 :

The California Department of Justice today released the annual "Homicide in California 2010" report showing the rate of homicide crimes per 100,000 in population decreased 7.8 percent from 2009.
The total number of homicides declined from 1,970 in 2009 to 1,809 in 2010.
The homicide clearance rate, or percentage of reported crimes that have been solved, has increased for the 5th consecutive year. This year's rate of 63.8 % is the highest since 2001.
Among the highlights: - 80.3 % of homicide victims were male, 19.7 % were female. - 44.5 % of homicide victims were Hispanic, 29.6 % were black, 18.2 % were white, and 7.4 % were categorized as "other." - Females were more likely to be killed in their residence, while males were more likely to be killed on streets or sidewalks. -  Of homicides where the weapon was identified, the majority (71.2 %) involved a firearm. - Of the homicides where the contributing circumstances were known, 36.1 percent were gang-related. By the end of 2010, there were 709 persons under sentence of death in California. Of these, 34 were sentenced in 2010, 10 of which were in Los Angeles County.
 4 California peace officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2010. The last execution in California dates back to Jan. 2006.