Saluting a record year for CHP cadets, California’s next generation of law enforcement officers

A growing force protecting Californians

The CHP’s recruitment initiatives over the past few years — including the launch in 2022 of the statewide “Join the CHP 1000” campaign and the “Cadets” web series — continue to drive strong interest in law enforcement careers. 

Including today’s newly sworn members, the CHP has brought on more than 2,300 officers from January 2022 through December 2025. 

From 2022 to 2024, applications increased by more than 52%.

The CHP is on track to receive more than 33,000 applications by the end of the year, continuing the upward trend.

• 2022: 16,077 applications

• 2023: 19,590 applications

• 2024: 25,477 applications

Strong regional law enforcement partnerships 

In August, Governor Newsom announced the next phase of the state’s crime-fighting efforts — deploying new CHP crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state — San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

CHP officers assigned to Crime Suppression Teams have already saturated high-crime areas, which as of this month has led to 1,446 arrests, 249 stolen vehicles recovered, and 63 illicit firearms seized since expanding these crime-fighting efforts. Additionally, K-9 teams have joined this crime protection effort to continue supporting CHP officers. 

Crime is down in California, again

California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

Given those investments and key partnerships with local law enforcement agencies statewide, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%). Another data set released by the California Department of Justice found that nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. California’s 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966. 

In August 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state’s robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California’s crime rate remains at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

As part of the largest-ever state investment to fight organized retail crime, Governor Newsom announced in 2023 that the state allocated $267 million to 55 communities to help them combat this issue. These funds have allowed cities and counties to hire more police officers, make more arrests, and pursue more felony charges against suspects.