Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order establishing an interagency effort to coordinate California's public safety strategy, following the state's recent achievement of its lowest homicide rate since statewide reporting began in 1966.
"California has made historic progress on public safety, and we have to protect it," Newsom said. "By continuing to bring agencies together to measure results, close gaps, and build on what works, we can help ensure this progress continues for years to come."
All major crime categories declined in 2025 compared with 2024. Homicides fell 18.6 percent, robberies fell 19.9 percent, property crime fell 14.3 percent, motor vehicle theft fell 25.8 percent, and violent crime fell 10.2 percent. Since Newsom took office, homicide is down 20 percent, robbery is down 31 percent, property crime is down 24 percent, and motor vehicle theft is down 19 percent.
Since 2019, California has invested $546.8 million in the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program and victim services. Research from Richmond's Office of Neighborhood Safety showed that the city's Peacemaker Fellowship was associated with a 61 percent reduction in fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults from 2010 to 2024.
The new interagency effort will map California's existing public safety programs, evaluate which approaches produce results, identify coordination gaps, and recommend a coordinated, evidence-based strategy across crime prevention, enforcement, rehabilitation, and reentry. The effort will work to ensure successful programs do not operate in silos and can be sustained by the next administration.
The state is also investing in human trafficking prevention. The enacted state budget includes $2.4 million over three years to support the Finding Kids grant program, which funds local law enforcement decoy operations targeting sex trafficking, and $1.8 million for the City of Refuge Sacramento to support a Family Belonging and Prevention Micro-Campus serving women affected by sexual exploitation, trafficking, or abuse.