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-Editorial
With crime rates declining across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the next phase of California Highway Patrol (CHP) crime suppression efforts, expanding deployments to major regions including San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The initiative builds on prior CHP efforts in Oakland, Bakersfield, and San Bernardino, where officers worked closely with local law enforcement agencies to target high-crime areas, seize illegal firearms and narcotics, and focus on repeat offenders. CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said the teams will provide “critical support to our local partners by focusing on crime where it happens most” and emphasized the importance of combining resources, intelligence, and personnel to disrupt criminal activity.
CHP Crime Suppression Teams are designed to identify and suppress criminal activity in high-crime areas using data and intelligence-led policing, conduct proactive operations to deter and disrupt organized crime, increase CHP visibility in communities most affected by crime, support local law enforcement with intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement, and maintain accountability through structured leadership and reporting. Officials said the expansion follows positive results from previous deployments. In Bakersfield, since April 2024, CHP officers and local law enforcement have made 859 felony arrests, 721 misdemeanor arrests, 2,654 DUI arrests, recovered 1,386 stolen vehicles, and seized 114 firearms, while homicides fell 57% and shootings dropped 60% compared with 2021, marking the city’s lowest crime rates in three years. In Oakland, a joint effort that began in February 2024 contributed to a 34% overall decrease in crime in 2024, with robbery down 25%, burglary nearly 50%, and vehicle theft 33%; arrest totals included 73 felonies, 420 misdemeanors, and 1,528 DUI cases, along with 4,257 stolen vehicles recovered and 247 firearms seized.
San Bernardino officials said collaborative law enforcement operations since October 2024 have led to significant reductions in property theft and violent crime, including gun-related offenses. Arrest totals included 357 felonies, 1,617 misdemeanors, and 170 DUI cases, with 145 stolen vehicles and 82 illicit firearms seized.
Data from the California Department of Justice indicate that nearly all major crime categories, including violent crime and homicide, fell in 2024. Preliminary statistics from the state’s eight largest cities show violent crime decreased 12.5% during the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while comparable cities outside California recorded an 11.8% decline.
The Major Cities Chiefs Association reports a 20% drop in homicides and a 19% decrease in robberies in California so far this year. Oakland and San Francisco reported the largest reductions in violent crime at 30% and 22%, respectively. In Los Angeles County, where three law enforcement agencies contribute data, overall violent crime fell 11% in 2025. Statewide, homicide, robbery, and property crime rates have generally returned to or fallen below pre-pandemic levels.
California’s 2024 homicide rate, 5.1 per 100,000 residents, was the second lowest since at least 1966. By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2023 homicide rates of 19.4 in Mississippi, 19.3 in Louisiana, 14.8 in Alabama, and 11.4 in Tennessee—ranging from more than double to nearly four times California’s rate.
California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 in programs aimed at reducing crime, supporting local law enforcement hiring, and improving public safety. In 2023, as part of the state’s Public Safety Plan, the governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime, including a 310% increase in proactive enforcement operations and special statewide initiatives.
In addition, last August Newsom signed bipartisan legislation strengthening laws against property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries, providing law enforcement with new tools to adapt to evolving criminal tactics. As part of the state’s organized retail crime program, $267 million was distributed to 55 communities to support local policing efforts, including hiring additional officers, making arrests, and securing felony charges against suspects.
Officials said the expanded CHP Crime Suppression Teams aim to build on these successes and further reduce crime across the state through collaboration with local law enforcement, strategic deployments, and targeted enforcement in high-risk areas.