Who polices Carnelian Bay, and what they report
For a graded neighbor, the nearest is Truckee (C+), 10 miles away. Carnelian Bay has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Placer County. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Carnelian Bay alone, and no Safety Grade. Within a 25-mile drive lie 2 towns that have a grade.
What stands out about safety in Carnelian Bay
Policed by the county
Carnelian Bay is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Placer County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Carnelian Bay. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest California towns with their own police figures are Truckee (C+, 10 mi), South Lake Tahoe (D, 22 mi), Nevada City (D−, 51 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Carnelian Bay. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Placer County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Placer County without police of their own, which include Carnelian Bay.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest California towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truckee | C+ | 10 mi | 4.0 | 6.9 |
| South Lake Tahoe | D | 22 mi | 7.2 | 14.1 |
| Nevada City | D− | 51 mi | 15.4 | 14.1 |
| Placerville | C− | 52 mi | 5.9 | 13.7 |
| Grass Valley | D | 52 mi | 6.2 | 20.7 |
| Auburn | B− | 58 mi | 3.1 | 7.4 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Carnelian Bay. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Carnelian Bay.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
One person died in crashes on Carnelian Bay’s roads in 2019–2023
Carnelian Bay had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for California towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Carnelian Bay’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Carnelian Bay’s own rate (51.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Carnelian Bay and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Flat | — | — | — |
| Tahoe Vista | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Cedar Flat and Tahoe Vista are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Carnelian Bay
Is Carnelian Bay, CA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Carnelian Bay. The nearest California towns with a grade are Truckee (C+, 10 mi), South Lake Tahoe (D, 22 mi), Nevada City (D−, 51 mi).
Who polices Carnelian Bay?
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Carnelian Bay is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Placer County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Carnelian Bay.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.