When San Diego closed a $172 million budget gap last year, city officials cut their police workforce by a greater margin than the nation’s largest cities, according to new data posted by the FBI.

But those cuts didn’t correlate to a spike in crime. Compared to other cities, San Diego police reported similar drops in violent crime and even steeper drops in property crime.

Today, these trends have become part of the debate over Proposition D, the November ballot measure to increase the sales tax. Supporters say part of the new revenue would prevent further reductions to the police force next year, but they acknowledge that previous budget cuts haven’t impacted crime levels and some services.

To bring you up to speed on how San Diego compares to other big cities, check out these graphics showing trends in the public safety workforce and crime levels. If you have any insight to share about these trends, please post a comment or contact me.

Please contact Keegan Kyle directly at keegan.kyle@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5668 and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/keegankyle.

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