State sending CHP crime suppression teams to support San Diego police

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that California Highway Patrol crime suppression teams will be deployed to San Diego and major cities across the state.

The teams will work with local law enforcement agencies as part of ongoing efforts to reduce crime statewide.

Newsom said the deployments are an expansion of CHP efforts that the governor said have led to significant crime reductions in Bakersfield, Oakland and San Bernardino.

The new enforcement efforts will take place in San Diego, as well as Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Central Valley, Sacramento and the Bay Area.

Crime suppression teams “will saturate high-crime areas, target repeat offenders and seize illicit weapons and narcotics,” the governor’s office said.

“When the state and local communities work together strategically, public safety improves,” Newsom said in a statement. “While the Trump administration undermines cities, California is partnering with them – and delivering real results. With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down.”

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a statement noting that in San Diego, crime has been “going down steadily over the past three years,” a result, he said, of “hard work and appropriate resourcing of our local law enforcement.”

Nevertheless, he concluded: “I welcome Governor Newsom’s decision to send more resources to cities like ours to build on our success and crack down on crimes like retail theft and auto theft that hurt our families, small businesses and neighborhoods.”

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office also released a statement that pointed to what officials see as already “exceptional regional coordination and collaboration” among law enforcement in the area, including municipal, state, federal and tribal agencies.

The focus, according to Sheriff’s officials, will be on leveraging assets.

“We anticipate having additional resources from the California Highway Patrol will augment what we are already doing to keep our communities safe,” they said. ‘The sheriff and CHP leadership have been in discussion regarding ways in which we can best leverage each other’s resources to ensure the highest quality public service to our communities.”

The governor’s office said the crime suppression teams will:

• Identify and target high-crime areas through data and intelligence-led policing
• Conduct operations designed to deter and disrupt organized crime
• Provide increased CHP visibility and presence in communities most impacted by crime
• Support local law enforcement by sharing intelligence, coordinating enforcement and assisting with investigations, and
• Maintain strict accountability through structured leadership, clear reporting and operational oversight.

In cities where the CHP has partnered with local authorities, crime has fallen. Bakersfield’s 2024 crime rates were the lowest since 2021, with a 57% drop in homicides and 60% fewer shootings. By late 2024, Newsom’s office said, Oakland significantly reduced crime, with an overall 34% decrease year-over-year. 

“These crime suppression teams will provide critical support to our local partners by focusing on crime where it happens most,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “By combining resources, intelligence and personnel, we can better disrupt criminal activity and strengthen the safety and security of communities across California.”

Updated 4:25 p..m. Aug. 28, 2025