Los Cabos Has Most Crime In Baja California, But Here’s Why Tourists Are Perfectly Safe

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Last Updated 9 months ago

The state of Baja California Sur released its updated rankings of the cities within the state with the most crime-related incidents.

Just like in this same period last year, Los Cabos remains the city within the state with the most crime. However, that shouldn’t necessarily be a cause for alarm for tourists that want to come to Los Cabos.

One of the main reasons why Los Cabos is typically the city with the most crime is because it’s by far the largest and most populated city in the state.

In spite of this, the number of incidents in Los Cabos is typically low for a city of this size. 

The ranking system uses red, yellow, and green lights to indicate which city in the state is the most prone to a particular type of crime.

For example, Los Cabos is featured with a red light because of the number of extortion instances that were reported in the city throughout June.

The red light could alarm tourists. However, when you look closer, you realize that the reason that Los Cabos is in the red is because there were 5 extortion cases reported throughout the month, and there was no other extortion case reported in any of the other cities throughout the state. 

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Strictly speaking, Los Cabos does come in last and, therefore would merit the red light ranking. With only 5 reported cases, it’s not like local authorities consider Cabo an extortion hotbed.

While it is something, locals and travelers may need to be aware of. It isn’t necessarily something that’s happening every day. 

Some Of The More Prominent Crimes Don’t Directly Affect Travelers

Unfortunately, the most prominent crime in Los Cabos is domestic violence. In June 2023 alone, there were 150 reported cases.

That’s a record number of cases for this particular crime. At least in the last year and a half. While this is certainly a concerning stat, tourists who arrive in Cabo won’t necessarily be directly affected by this crime.

Another crime that’s seen a considerable uptick has been the robberies of private businesses. There was a highly publicized recent incident in a café in Cabo where the establishment was robbed with customers inside.

In spite of this, most of these incidents take place when the business is effectively closed. In the month of June, there were 27 reports of these robberies filled with local authorities.

That number is right around the monthly average; still, these robberies are amongst the biggest concerns that local authorities have. 

Crime Incidents That Tourists Should Be Aware Of   

Another category that Los Cabos leads the State of Baja California Sur in is violent episodes. These can be anything from a brawl at the bar to a mugging.

In the month of June, there were 65 different violent episodes reported to police. It’s important to point out that most of these incidents didn’t necessarily take place in popular tourist hot spots in Los Cabos or involve tourists. Regardless, it’s a good idea for tourists to avoid physical altercations while in Cabo. 

While travelers are mostly safe in and near the popular attractions that Cabo has to offer, walking back to the hotel or Airbnb late at night should be something travelers will want to think about, and consider calling a cab or an Uber instead.

Travelers who are headed to La Paz throughout the summer should also be on the lookout to try and make sure they don’t end up in the middle of a violent episode.

The city registered 62 different violent episodes throughout June. Most of these incidents again don’t take place near the main tourist hot spots.

It’s still a good idea for travelers to take the necessary precautions to ensure they remain safe whether they travel to Cabo, La Paz, or any of the other popular tourist destinations within Baja California Sur.