Chile Safety Map
EN ES

San Fernando

Medium-high incidence Population: 81,117
6,464
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants (2025)
More reported crime than 81%
of Chile's communes
CEAD 2025 · #66 of 346 · 1 = most reported incidence
More reported crime than 79%
of communes in O'Higgins
CEAD 2025 · #7 of 33 · 1 = most reported incidence

Annual evolution (2005–present)

Stable
11% above national average
14% above regional average

Reported incidence by crime category (2025)

Life crimes 1440
Property crimes 1832
Violent robbery 296
Disorder 1414
Domestic violence 1181
Drug crimes 136
Weapons 165

Note: this is CEAD’s "Drug Crimes" family — criminal offences under Ley 20.000 (trafficking, micro-trafficking and cultivation). It is a low-volume, mostly police-detected category. Public drug or alcohol consumption is classified by CEAD under Disorder, not here, so this figure understates total drug-related police activity.

Homicides (2025)

6 per 100,000 inhabitants (5 cases)

Source: CEAD, subgroup 101 Life Crimes (2025)

Crime evolution by category (2005–present)

Life crimes

2005–2026

Property crimes

2005–2026

Violent robbery

2005–2026

Disorder

2005–2026

Domestic violence

2005–2026

Drug crimes

2005–2026

Weapons

2005–2026

Homicide

2005–2026

Faded points indicate partial-year data.

Composite Crime Index (2024)

28 Very High
#64 of 346 nationally · #5 in O'Higgins
Composite of reported crimes (CEAD/SPD), adjusted for SII economic activity. Does not reflect unreported crime. Reference year: 2024.

Household Victimization (ENUSC 2024)

6.2% (2024)
95% confidence interval: 4.5% – 8.5%
INE experimental estimate (SAE-modeled). Proportion of households reporting at least one violent crime. Covers 136 of 346 comunas. Distinct from CEAD reported-crime index — measures victimization survey responses, not police denuncias. Source: INE Estadísticas Experimentales, Seguridad Ciudadana.

Comparable commune (same region)

Las Cabras O'Higgins
6,585 per 100k inh. #64 of 346 Stable

View on Map

See San Fernando on the interactive Chile crime map →

Similar Communes in This Region

Communes in O'Higgins with similar reported CEAD incidence rates:

Commune Rate per 100k
National rank Trend
Las Cabras 6,585 #64 Stable
Codegua 6,273 #74 Rising
Rancagua 6,202 #78 Declining
Santa Cruz 6,098 #89 Stable
Nancagua 6,094 #90 Stable

Glossary

Rankings by Crime Type

San Fernando (O'Higgins region) has maintained a relatively stable level of reported incidence in recent years. CEAD figures place it at national rank 66 of 346, with 6,464.5 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025.

San Fernando is one of the communes that make up the O'Higgins region. Within the region, it holds regional rank 7, a position that reflects its incidence level relative to other communes in the same administrative area. Regional comparisons are particularly relevant because they account for shared socioeconomic conditions, urban density patterns, and local reporting infrastructure that may influence measured incidence across the region.

The reported incidence rate of San Fernando in 2025 is close to the per-capita national mean computed across non-low-population communes. The difference is within a narrow margin, suggesting that the commune's reported activity broadly tracks the national level for communes of comparable data quality.

Within O'Higgins, San Fernando's 2025 rate is close to the regional per-capita mean. The commune sits near the midpoint of its regional distribution, indicating that its reported incidence aligns broadly with the typical level for the region.

In 2025, the leading category in San Fernando's reported crime profile was property crimes, which accounted for the largest share of total reported incidents. The second most prevalent category was crimes against persons. This composition reflects San Fernando's particular urban and socioeconomic characteristics. The CEAD breakdown covers seven crime families: crimes against persons, property crimes, violent robbery, public-order incidents, domestic violence, drug-related offenses, and weapons offenses. The relative weight of each category in the total rate is visible in the incidence-by-category chart above.

A useful reference point for contextualizing San Fernando's data is Las Cabras (O'Higgins), identified as the nearest comparable commune within the same region based on reported incidence. In 2025, Las Cabras recorded approximately 6,585.2 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 6,464.5 for San Fernando. The two communes share a similar incidence tier, making the comparison informative for understanding San Fernando's position relative to a concrete peer rather than an abstract national average. Las Cabras holds national rank 64 of 346.

Looking at the full CEAD time series, San Fernando recorded 6,126.3 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. Since then, the reported rate has increased, reaching 6,464.5 in 2025. The multi-year series is displayed in the sparkline chart above, which shows annual values from 2005 through 2025. The most recent year of partial data (if available) is shown at reduced opacity to indicate that the figure is not yet complete. Year-on-year fluctuations are normal and can reflect changes in recording practices, population estimates, or law enforcement priorities rather than changes in underlying behavior.

The data presented here are sourced from CEAD (Centro de Estudios y Análisis del Delito), the official Chilean body that compiles police-reported crime statistics. All figures represent reported incidents — actual incidence may differ due to under-reporting, which varies by crime type and territory. The 2025 rate of 6,464.5 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants for San Fernando reflects the most recent complete annual data available at the time of this publication. For more information on methodology and the rate-per-100,000 definition, see the methodology section.