Following the Watts riots in 1965, crime in Compton rose sharply as more middle-class residents fled. By 1970, it had the highest crime rate in the state of California. Compton's violent reputation reached the national spotlight in the late 1980s with the prominent rise of local gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted and N.W.A, the latter of whom released the album Straight Outta Compton in 1988. The city became notorious for gang violence, primarily caused by the Bloods and Crips.[28] After years of decline in crime, Compton's murder rate skyrocketed in 2004 with racial conflicts between blacks and Latinos.[29] 2005 was the city's deadliest year on record when the city murder rate reached 72 killings with a total population of 90,000 residents. The spike was the highest since 1991, when the city had more than 100,000 residents. The rise in homicides frightened residents who had long lived with high levels of gang violence but had seen a downturn in violent crime in recent years.[30]
In 2013, the homicide rate was 36.8 per 100,000 residents, a decrease from the mid-2000s peak.[31] Guns are used in the vast majority of homicides in Compton. Between 2000 and 2016, 91.5% were killed with guns compared to the national average of 67.7%.[32] In 2015 there was a record low of 15 homicides while the homicide rate in the rest of the US increased.