CHP hits the Bay Area streets, enforces public safety through its crime suppression teams

California takes care of its communities

The California National Guard already supports San Francisco in multiple ways, including through its Counter Drug Task Force with over two dozen guardsmembers assigned to San Francisco, through city strategic planning in support of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, and prosecution support within the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. 

The truth is that Donald Trump hates California’s progress. California’s partnership with

local communities, especially in San Francisco, has helped reduce crime and increase public safety by seizing illicit drugs and firearms off the streets. With crime dropping statewide, the Governor announced the next phase of his crime-fighting efforts in July — deploying new California Highway Patrol (CHP) crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state — San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The work these officers do together every day is all in service to their communities and to improve safety overall. In 2023, the state began working with local communities to target fentanyl trafficking, disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city, and holding the operators of drug trafficking rings accountable.

Through collaborative efforts between the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, the California National Guard, the San Francisco Police Department, and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, officials seized nearly 700 pounds of fentanyl and CHP issued 6,200+ citations for illegal activity, made 500+ arrests, and recovered 115+ stolen vehicles.

California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

In August, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state’s robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California’s crime rate remains at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

Crime is down in the Bay Area

According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12.5% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (30%) and San Francisco (22%). Another data set released by the California Department of Justice found that nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. 

The results in California’s major Bay Area cities cross over into overall success for the state as California’s 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966. 

And when comparing crime rates in San Francisco before the COVID-related crime surge, between 2019 and 2025, there has been a 45% decrease in homicides and 40% decrease in robberies. Similarly, in Oakland, between 2019 and 2025, there has been a 28% decrease in robberies while homicide rates remain unchanged.