By Chase Smith
Contributing Writer
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that new California Highway Patrol crime suppression teams will be deployed in major cities across the state, expanding a program officials say has already reduced violent and property crime.
The teams will work in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, and the Inland Empire, focusing on high-crime areas in coordination with local police. Newsom said the expanded deployments build on earlier partnerships in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Bernardino.
“When the state and local communities work together strategically, public safety improves,” Newsom said in a statement, accusing the Trump administration of “underm[ing] cities” while California is partnering with them in “delivering real results.”
“With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down.”
In response to Newsom’s claim that the Trump administration was undermining cities, the White House said in an emailed statement that after Newsom spent weeks criticizing President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime, he had “reverted to his tried-and-true strategy: embracing and copying the Trump agenda.”
“Stopping crime should not be a partisan exercise,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, accusing the governor of making it such.
“President Trump’s partnership with DC (Metropolitan Police Department) has resulted in record drops in crime and countless dangerous criminals being removed from DC’s streets. And the more Democrats follow the president’s lead to crack down on crime, the better it is for the American people!”
According to California state data, violent crime dropped by 12.5% in the state’s eight largest cities during the first half of 2025 from the same period last year. Homicides fell by 20%, and robberies decreased by 19% statewide, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
Oakland reported a 30% decline in violent crime, while San Francisco reported a 22% decline.
The CHP crime suppression teams will use data-driven policing to target repeat offenders, seize illegal firearms, and disrupt organized crime, CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said.
Since 2024, CHP officers working with local agencies in Bakersfield, Oakland and San Bernardino have made more than 9,000 arrests, recovered nearly 5,800 stolen vehicles, and seized more than 400 firearms.
In Bakersfield, homicides fell by 57% and shootings dropped by 60% in 2024 from 2021 levels. Oakland recorded a 34% overall decrease in crime last year, while San Bernardino reported reductions in both violent crime and property theft following the launch of regional enforcement operations.
California’s homicide rate in 2024 was the second lowest in nearly six decades, at 5.1 per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, Louisiana and Mississippi recorded homicide rates nearly four times higher.
Since 2019, the state has invested $1.7 billion in public safety initiatives, including hiring more officers and funding technology to help track organized retail theft, Newsom said in the statement.
Last year, Newsom signed a bipartisan package of laws aimed at cracking down on serial shoplifting, smash-and-grab robberies, and auto burglaries.
The governor’s office said the state also distributed $267 million to 55 cities and counties to bolster local anti-theft operations, the largest such investment in combating organized retail crime in the state’s history.
Nationally, statistics show crime has declined. The FBI reported earlier this month that violent crime fell by 4.5% in 2024 from 2023, with homicides down by nearly 15%.
Newsom’s announcement comes as Trump has federalized Washington’s MPD, deploying federal agents and the National Guard to patrol the capital.
The White House and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser have credited the move for the more than 1,000 arrests and a sharp drop in homicides and robberies. Trump has also said he may extend federal control to other major cities, including Chicago and Baltimore.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into allegations that Washington’s police manipulated crime data to make crime rates appear lower, raising questions about the accuracy of reported statistics.
While public concern about crime remains high, officials said California’s approach of combining state resources with local enforcement has helped drive down rates across the state.
“These crime suppression teams will provide critical support to our local partners by focusing on crime where it happens most,” Duryee said. “By combining resources, intelligence, and personnel, we can better disrupt criminal activity and strengthen the safety and security of communities across California.”
