Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom says California’s latest public safety push is beginning to show results. On Thursday, he announced that newly deployed California Highway Patrol crime suppression teams have made 409 arrests, recovered 156 stolen vehicles, and seized 25 firearms in just the past several weeks.
The announcement comes at a moment when California officials are eager to counter the narrative of spiraling crime rates. The state’s own data tells a more complicated story. In 2024, according to the Department of Justice, nearly every major crime category declined, with homicides and violent crimes falling to levels not seen since before the pandemic. That’s not to say concerns about public safety have disappeared. Smash-and-grab robberies, organized retail theft, and auto burglaries have captured headlines and stoked political anxiety.
The crime suppression teams, which were expanded this summer into San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and the Inland Empire, are the centerpiece of Newsom’s effort to show the state is taking those concerns seriously. The units are designed to be nimble—relying on data, targeted patrols, and intelligence-sharing with local departments. And the governor insists the early results speak for themselves…