Policing San Martin: who reports, and what
San Martin has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Santa Clara County. The Santa Clara 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 San Martin alone, and no Safety Grade. Morgan Hill has a Safety Grade of C+; no graded town is nearer.
What stands out about safety in San Martin
Policed by the county
San Martin is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for San Martin. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest California towns with their own police figures are Morgan Hill (C+, 4 mi), Gilroy (C−, 5 mi), Watsonville (C, 15 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from San Martin. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Clara County without police of their own, which include San Martin.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Santa Clara 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Hill | C+ | 4 mi | 2.2 | 13.3 |
| Gilroy | C− | 5 mi | 4.7 | 23.3 |
| Watsonville | C | 15 mi | 4.7 | 12.0 |
| San Jose | D | 19 mi | 5.8 | 25.1 |
| Hollister | B− | 19 mi | 3.1 | 7.2 |
| Capitola | C− | 21 mi | 3.2 | 28.0 |
Straight-line distance from the center of San Martin. Nearby towns can differ a lot from San Martin.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
14 people died in crashes on San Martin’s roads in 2019–2023
San Martin had 14 fatal crashes in five years, in which 14 people died; 7 were pedestrians.
That is 40.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for California towns of 5,000–25,000 people (5.6, 355 towns).
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.
San Martin and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Hill | C+ | 2.2 | 13.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 San Martin
Is San Martin, CA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for San Martin. The nearest California towns with a grade are Morgan Hill (C+, 4 mi), Gilroy (C−, 5 mi), Watsonville (C, 15 mi).
Who polices San Martin?
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. San Martin is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Clara 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 San Martin.
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.