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CHP Special Operation and Local Efforts Continue to Show Results
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Violent crime and property crime are significantly down year-over-year in San Francisco. In addition to local law enforcement efforts, state law enforcement officers have seized over 42 pounds of fentanyl in San Francisco — over 9.6 million lethal doses of the drug — since a special operation began last May.
SAN FRANCISCO – Following last week’s announcement from local officials showing a significant year-over-year reduction in property and violent crime, today Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has seized more than 42 pounds of fentanyl in the approximately 10-block radius of San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood since May 1, 2023, when the state’s joint public safety partnership with the City of San Francisco began. In addition to the seizure of 19.2 kilos of fentanyl (which equates to over 9.6 million lethal doses of the drug), the CHP has issued 6,044 citations leading to 496 arrests for illegal activity and recovered 15 crime-linked guns as part of its operation in San Francisco.
WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID: “These results are a testament to the effective collaboration among state, local, and federal law enforcement in San Francisco. We will continue to work together to get drugs off our streets, address crime, and make our communities safer.”
Citywide, in the first quarter of 2024 (January 1 – March 31), property crime is down 32% and violent crime is down 14% compared to the first quarter of 2023, according to local San Francisco police data. This reduction reflects the work of local law enforcement and state and federal efforts. Law enforcement agencies continue to work collaboratively to improve public safety in San Francisco, including the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the CHP, the California National Guard (CalGuard), the California Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
HOW WE GOT HERE: CHP’s operation in San Francisco began on May 1, 2023, and consists of deployments of officers in multiple teams in the Tenderloin and immediately surrounding areas. The CHP’s operation is focused on improving public safety, targeting fentanyl trafficking, disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city that proliferates across the state, and holding the operators of drug trafficking rings accountable. The operation builds on the Governor’s Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, which includes an expansion of CalGuard-supported operations that has led to a 1066% increase in seized fentanyl and historic levels of funding — $1 billion statewide — to crack down on the crisis.
In the East Bay, the CHP continues its separate operation focused on combating auto theft, cargo theft, retail crime, violent crime, and high-visibility traffic enforcement, which has resulted in the recent arrests of approximately 200 suspects and the recovery of more than 400 stolen vehicles since February 2024.
B-roll footage of CHP’s operation in San Francisco is available for download and use by producers and members of the media here.
