Once again, Monterey County ranks number one in the state in youth homicide rates.

Among the things a county would like to be known for, this is not one of them: A study released today by the Violence Policy Center shows that in 2012, the most recent data at time of research, Monterey County had the highest youth homicide rate of any county in the state.

VPC, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, has conducted the study in California in each of the last four years, using data from 2009-12. In every study except last year’s (where the county ranked third in the state based on 2011 data), Monterey County has topped the list, consistently eclipsing larger, more urban counties like San Francisco, Alameda and Los Angeles.

The study looks at homicide rates for ages 10 to 24, and in 2012, the county had 23.32 per 100,000 residents in that age group. San Francisco County, which ranked second in this year’s study, had a comparable rate of 23.20 per 100,000. Statewide, the rate is 8.06 per 100,000.

The county’s numbers signal an uptick in youth violence since last year’s study of 2011 data, in which the county had a youth homicide rate of 16.96. But they also point to a decrease from the first study, using 2009 data, where the county had a rate of 31.24.

The study also shows a clear pattern to the youth violence in the county:

• There were 22 youth homicide victims in the county in 2012, all of them Hispanic, and all but one of them male.

• 86 percent of the victims were shot and killed by guns.

• For homicides where the circumstances could be identified, 94 percent (16 out of 17) were not related to the commission of any other felony, and of those 17, 88 percent (14) were gang-related.  

• 62 percent of the victims were killed on a street, sidewalk or in a parking lot.

Below are the 10 California counties with the highest youth homicide victim rates in the latest study: 

Rank   County                   Homicide Rate, Ages 10 to 24 

1      Monterey                 23.32 per 100,000

2      San Francisco          23.20 per 100,000

3      San Joaquin            21.90 per 100,000

4      Alameda                 20.86 per 100,000

5      Stanislaus               14.88 per 100,000

6      Solano                    14.85 per 100,000

7      Merced                   14.82 per 100,000

8      Contra Costa          11.41 per 100,000

9      Tulare                    10.75 per 100,000

10    Los Angeles             9.55 per 100,000

The full study can be found at http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2014.pdf, or in Spanish, at http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2014esp.pdf.