California Governor Newsom Makes Big Announcement About Public Safety

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced the deployment of over 100 new California Highway Patrol officers...

Photo byGage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

Governor Gavin Newsom recently said that over 100 new California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers are being deployed soon to keep California communities safe. According to a press release by Governor Newsom, the new CHP officers will be deployed in communities across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and several other cities.

“This diverse group of officers represents the best of California,” said Governor Newsom. “I’m profoundly grateful they have chosen to answer the call to serve — and committed themselves to improving public safety and building trust across the Golden State.”

With the addition of these new officers, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the nation's biggest state police department, now has approximately 6,550 sworn officers assigned across the state. The 100+ officers recently sworn in are part of the California Highway Patrol's multiyear recruitment program to fill 1,000 empty officer positions by hiring qualified individuals from the state's varied neighborhoods.

A new class of 128 cadets is due to join the CHP Academy's two existing cadet classes next month, raising the total number of CHP cadets in training to 366. The number of cadets in training will be the greatest in 14 years, according to a press release by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on the death penalty after being elected Governor in 2018. He has also bolstered support for victims of crime, invested in police officers' mental health, and ended California's use of private for-profit prisons.

“Over the last several weeks, we’ve welcomed the California Highway Patrol and National Guard working collaboratively alongside our local agencies," said Mayor London Breed. "To be successful in the long term we need to sustain and expand this work at the local, state, and federal levels. I want to thank Governor Newsom for sending more support to our City and for his continued commitment to the safety of San Francisco.”

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