California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new law enforcement initiative on Thursday, pledging to deploy additional state police resources across several major regions in the state.
The move comes as Newsom and his office face growing criticism over the accuracy and context of crime data he has promoted on social media in recent weeks.
For much of the past month, Newsom’s press office has posted crime comparisons between cities in California and cities in Republican-led states.
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The data often highlighted homicide statistics, leaving out broader violent crime trends.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump has scared Gavin Newsom into worrying about crime.
Gavin is now increasing law enforcement presence across his state. He is petrified of Trump deploying to California.
The Trump Effect is in full force 😂 pic.twitter.com/Qt7w0nEzTR
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 28, 2025
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In some cases, the comparisons pitted California cities against cities such as Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, both of which are governed by Democrats.
Critics have accused Newsom’s team of presenting a selective picture of crime while downplaying challenges within California.
The criticism extends to allegations that California has previously reclassified and underreported crimes, tactics that some have also alleged occurred in Washington, D.C.
Despite presenting social media narratives that crime is under control in major California cities, Newsom announced Thursday that the state will send officers to areas he said require “crime suppression.”
According to Newsom, the California Highway Patrol and state police will be deployed to San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Speaking at a news conference alongside the CHP commissioner, Newsom said the operations would be targeted and rely on intelligence-sharing between agencies.
Newsom on why he’s surging law enforcement around California to crack down on crime: “You still have people whose cars are broken into, you still have crimes being committed, you still have murders, you still feel unsafe.” pic.twitter.com/GipUixyDrH
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 28, 2025
“These operations will be targeted,” Newsom said at the briefing.
“They’ll be data-driven. They’ll be focused on the basis of intelligence gathering that’s coming from different law enforcement agencies. On the basis of these existing task forces and existing relationships. And these will be unannounced efforts.”
When asked why a surge was needed if crime was allegedly down in some of the same regions, Newsom did not provide a direct answer.
Reporters pressed him on whether the deployment of additional officers signaled that he believed crime was still a serious issue in California.
Newsom ended the briefing without directly addressing that question.
Gavin Newsom is asked why he’s surging law enforcement across California while simultaneously claiming that his state doesn’t have a crime problem.
He stutters through his answer and then abruptly ends his press conference. pic.twitter.com/6QSmotsmR1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 28, 2025
The announcement also renewed debate over Newsom’s approach to Proposition 36, an anti-crime ballot initiative passed by voters in 2024.
Newsom had opposed the measure and initially attempted to keep it off the ballot. Despite the initiative passing overwhelmingly, he left out implementation funding in both of his budget proposals this year.
In mid-June, as part of a budget deal with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, Newsom agreed to allocate limited funding for the initiative.
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The agreement included $50 million for county behavioral health departments, $20 million for court costs, $15 million for pre-trial services, and $15 million for general use by public defenders.
Supporters of Proposition 36 had originally sought between $250 million and $400 million in state funding.
The $100 million ultimately included in the budget was viewed by many backers as inadequate.
The California District Attorneys Association, along with law enforcement and probation groups, had lobbied heavily for greater funding to support implementation.
Even organizations that opposed the initiative sought additional resources to offset potential consequences of its enactment.
Newsom’s critics argue that his social media messaging and public statements on crime present an inconsistent picture when compared with his policy decisions.
While his office has emphasized declines in homicide rates to compare favorably with other states, his move to authorize a statewide surge suggests ongoing concern over public safety challenges in California’s largest cities.
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Ratbag Gavin Newscum is a vile, lying, cheating, crooked, slimy snake-oil salesman. Never believe a word that comes out of that dirt-bags mouth.
with that all being true……where do those sub humans that voted and still voting for the slime come into the equation????
Ratbag Gavin Newscum is a vile, lying, cheating, crooked slimy snake-oil salesman. Never believe a word that comes out of that dirt-bags mouth.
Democrats lie, cheat, and steal. Is it any wonder that Gavin Newsom lies, cheats and steals? What we should wonder at is why Democrat voters persistently vote for people who lie, cheat and steal. Is it complete ignorance or willful stupidity? I worked at a place that sold expensive boats in Arcata. The owner was a life long Dem as were his parents. This was during the Bush vs Gore election. Gore made a speech in which he explained how anyone earning $250,000 per year should be taxed as a millionaire because they would have earned $1 million in four years. I showed this speech to my boss, the owner, who was earning nearly that much a year. He was stunned and admitted it was nonsense, but went on that he would be voting for Gore anyway because he always had voted for Democrats. Anyone who votes against their self-interest is a moron. That pretty much describes Democrats.
for sure CA has been cooking the books on crime stats – same as DC and other blue cities have been doing
That’s rich…CHP Commissioner cracking down on crime. The CHP Commissioners have a long history of immoral behavior themselves. One was in office and was getting close to retirement, and since his Public Employee Pension was linked to his last year of work earnings, he decided that massive overtime was needed to pad his earnings statement. He left his gilded office and went on ride-alongs with other officers, because he is very important you see and cant be alone with the public without a real officer with him. They were 45 minute patrols on Interstate 5 NB from his Sacramento office and dropped off at his home at the end. If you know CA then you know there isn’t anything but agriculture north of Sac. Very brave of him! So, he is out for 45 minutes then claims 4 hours OT. Every day, he is driven home from the office on an official “patrol”. Not enough of a pad he thinks. So, one day he slips on some “oil” in the CHP parking lot. These cars are suppose to be the epitome of safety, mind you, and not leaking vast quantities of oil destroying the California ecosystem. Claims he hurt his back in the line of duty and gets not only his pension but disability too! When he retired he was drawing 160% of his actual final year salary. He was found out by the “media” and a story was written, which is why we know about it. The Governor, Gray Davis (D) did nothing about it, let him slide. Davis was the Gov. when Newsome was Mayor of SF. They know each other well. Newsome learned some stuff from Davis.
To be so blind to your incompetence is sad but it is sadder that you keep opening your mouth for the stupidity to be poured out on others