Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0California is policed by the county: what that means
California has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in St. Mary's County. The St. Mary's 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 California alone, and no Safety Grade. For a graded neighbor, the nearest is Cambridge (D), 29 miles away.
What stands out about safety in California
Policed by the county
California is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for California. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Maryland towns with their own police figures are Cambridge (D, 29 mi), La Plata (C+, 31 mi), St. Michaels (C+, 37 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from California. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of St. Mary's County without police of their own, which include California.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in St. Mary's County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the St. Mary's 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 Maryland towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | D | 29 mi | 6.0 | 36.1 |
| La Plata | C+ | 31 mi | 1.9 | 16.6 |
| St. Michaels | C+ | 37 mi | 1.2 | 16.4 |
| Easton | C− | 40 mi | 4.3 | 18.5 |
| Hurlock | C− | 41 mi | 4.5 | 16.6 |
| Princess Anne | D− | 44 mi | 14.2 | 40.1 |
Straight-line distance from the center of California. Nearby towns can differ a lot from California.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Five people died in crashes on California’s roads in 2019–2023
California had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died.
That is about what is typical for Maryland towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of California’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so California’s own rate (7.6) 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.
California and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildewood | — | — | — |
| Lexington Park | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Wildewood and Lexington Park 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 California
Is California, MD safe?
There is no Safety Grade for California. The nearest Maryland towns with a grade are Cambridge (D, 29 mi), La Plata (C+, 31 mi), St. Michaels (C+, 37 mi).
Who polices California?
The St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office. California is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of St. Mary's 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 California.
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.