Several organizations have also implemented violence prevention programs in the community and its schools. Ninety percent of the homicides in the city involve handguns, said Sgt. Don O'Keefe of the San Mateo Sheriff's Department. State figures estimate that 75 percent of murders in California are committed with guns, of which 87.9 percent are handguns. Police say the city's relatively high crime rate is affected, in part, by great availability of alcohol and drugs and a high percentage of economically depressed areas.
Studies show that risk factors of violence include poverty and availability of alcohol and drugs.
Smaller rural towns accounted for four of the five California communities with the highest rates of violent crime. Topping the list is the small town of Corning, at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley. The town of 6,471 has, like most communities, solid churches, active youth leagues, a strong community spirit - and 40 violent crimes per thousand people. Police credit much of the problem to the high alcohol and drug use in Corning. Anthony Cardenas, Corning police chief, also said that the police department does a more thorough reporting of domestic violence cases, which he said accounted for 50 percent of the 1994 crime statistics.