The California Highway Patrol has announced that it will be moving to other parts of the Bay Area to fight crime, weeks after residents started petitioning state leaders to deploy more officers to fight crime amid local law enforcement shortages. Expand its presence to other cities.
Residents say life in the Vallejo enclave has become even more dangerous due to car entertainment, where people show off their cars and often perform dangerous stunts in vacant lots and public intersections, as well as drug crimes, shootings and shoplifting. Paula Conley wrote in the petition. Posted on Change.org.
Conley and other residents are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to send in California Highway Patrol officers in a manner similar to how the governor sent in CHP officers to deal with a crime spike in Oakland in early 2024. They requested that police be sent to Vallejo.
“We started to see their (crime) statistics go down, their quality of life improved, and they were able to better manage crime,” Conley told FOX News Digital. “We have exactly the same problems as Oakland, but we're just a small city. We need people to really help us.”
California shoplifter is shocked to learn that theft is a felony: “Oh, it's a new law''
Vallejo Police Headquarters in Vallejo, California. (Paul Chin/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
“We're not asking for it lightly. This has just been a crisis for a very long time. Our leadership doesn't have the urgency to respond yet, and at some point… Someone has to help us,” she added.
Conley said in his petition that sending CHP officers and Solano County sheriff's deputies to Vallejo could help combat crime, act as a deterrent to potential criminals, and assist an overworked police force. I wrote that there is.
CHP Deputy Chief Ezely Beacham said at a news conference in Oakland last week that the agency has assisted Vallejo police since July, conducting 600 traffic enforcement stops and making 32 arrests.
CHP leaders have met with Solano County Sheriff Thomas Ferrara, and CHP has announced that Vallejo Interim Police Chief Jason Ta. “We are 'committed' to working with the government,” Beacham said.
Pedestrians cross Georgia Street in Vallejo, California. Residents are calling for more support to fight crime. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Newsom last week approved the request for a CHP presence in Vallejo, but said city leaders will ultimately have to address police staffing issues.
“All I want the people of Vallejo to know is that we are not letting the CHP do the job of local law enforcement,” he said. “They somehow think, 'The state is going to step in and give us this assistance for free.' They have a lot of vacancies … and contract with, say, the sheriff's office or the county. Instead, they're expecting the state to do it for free, so we're not going to be in that business.”
Newsom added, “We're in the business of helping. You see what we're doing in Vallejo. We're helping them.”
Conley agreed that Vallejo officials need to address police staffing issues.
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference about public safety in 2025 with new laws and increased enforcement on December 27, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Just as the Oakland Police Department has to do their part to run the police department properly, so does Vallejo. I agree with the governor on responsibility,” she told FOX News Digital. “Our city can look to no one else to save our situation other than by giving us support to take control of the rebuilding process.”
In September, the governor signed emergency legislation that allows retired Solano County sheriff's deputies to return to the force full-time to meet Vallejo's public safety needs. The Vallejo Police Department currently only has 75 police officers out of 129 open positions. Rashad Hollis told Fox News Digital.
Vallejo City Manager Andrew Murray said the city is aware of Conley's petition.
Asked for comment on the matter, Murray said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital by the Vallejo Police Department and city leaders: “We respect and appreciate the community's right to raise concerns. “We welcome continued dialogue on security in Vallejo.” “The mayor, City Council, and I recently sent a request to the governor, state, and local agencies for law enforcement assistance.”
12-year-old San Francisco minor arrested on suspicion of shoplifting more than $84,000 worth of merchandise: Police
California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers provide security at the State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Murray acknowledged that rebuilding the beleaguered police department is a top priority, but more needs to be done. The department says it coordinates daily with nearby law enforcement agencies.
The Solano County Sheriff's Office is responding to a specific call to assist local authorities in Vallejo, said Sheriff's Sergeant John Rogers. Rex Hawkins. He said the sheriff's office is in the process of submitting a service proposal to the city of Vallejo.
If approved, “a service contract will be submitted and once the contract is signed, the process of building a law enforcement response will begin,” Hawkins told FOX News Digital.
Some Vallejo residents cite a lack of police officers as a reason for the declining quality of life.
As of Dec. 27, the city had 24 homicides in 2024, up from 21 at the same time last year, according to police data. Rape and theft also increased. Vehicle break-ins, thefts, assaults, and robberies decreased slightly.
How a political earthquake shook California and made crime 'finally illegal again'
California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke at a California Highway Patrol press conference on July 11 announcing new efforts to improve public safety in Oakland's East Bay. (Photo by Steven Lamb/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Scott, a Vallejo resident who declined to give his last name due to concerns about influence from local criminals, said he has seen a general decline in the city since he moved there more than two years ago from San Francisco, where he had lived for more than 20 years. he told Fox News Digital.
“We have a problem with drug dens and open prostitution,” he said. “Criminal elements just come into the city and take advantage of the fact that there are so few police.”
“San Francisco is much safer than Vallejo. I can walk around San Francisco late at night, but Vallejo, I don't walk around at night. There's too much criminal activity,” Scott, 54, added. “The media likes to bully San Francisco. There's no comparison.”
Vallejo city leaders declared a state of police staffing emergency in July, giving the police chief and Murray city manager the authority to address the issue, including requesting assistance from the sheriff's office and CHP. It was done.
Mr Murray said progress had been made towards improving police staffing levels, but “we recognize there are still challenges ahead”.
Drug arrests prove city is a 'magnet' for homelessness and crime, activist says
“The Vallejo Police Department works with our neighboring law enforcement agencies every day and we appreciate their consistent mutual aid support,” he said. “As we continue to rebuild, we remain open to considering supporting additional formal police services to enhance public safety in our communities.”
The deployment of additional CHP officers to Vallejo comes months after Newsom ordered the state to send officers to Oakland in February to combat crimes such as motor vehicle and organized retail thefts and violent crimes. It turns out.
“While crime rates are decreasing across California, including across the bay in San Francisco, we're seeing the opposite trend in Oakland,” Newsom said at the time. “What is happening in our beautiful city and surrounding areas is alarming and unacceptable. I am sending the California Highway Patrol to do what the hardworking people of Oakland and the East Bay have demanded. We support local efforts to restore the sense of safety that we deserve.”
In July, the governor announced that the CHP had recovered more than 1,000 stolen vehicles in the East Bay since February, seized 55 guns related to crimes, and arrested 562 suspects in the city. It was announced that the number of shifts carried out by CHP officers would be quadrupled.
Newsom announced last week that the CHP would remain in Oakland for another month to increase its law enforcement presence in the city. He also criticized local leaders for failing to change policies restricting the pursuit of fugitive criminals, despite calls for police to do so over the summer. There wasn't.”
Vallejo is located approximately 40 miles south of Oakland.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a significant increase in law enforcement officers to Oakland over the summer. (Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsom's office referenced a CHP statement highlighting CHP operations in Vallejo.
“CHP is present and active in Vallejo and continues to work with community stakeholders, including the police department, to ensure the safety and protection of the community,” said CHP Sgt. Andrew Barclay said.
The CHP announced that it has reached out to Vallejo Police Interim Chief Ta, regarding law enforcement assistance to increase police presence in the area. Barclay said units from CHP's Solano District Office have been advised to assist on the streets of Vallejo when they have free time or are in the area.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In response to the petition, Conley said much of the feedback was positive and cited her frustrations with why it was created in the first place.
“I’ve worked with the city to try and get answers and everything, and I’ve talked to the county as well, and I’m like, ‘Well, who else can I go to?’ Let’s go to the governor,” she said. Ta. “I've never petitioned. This is all new to me. There's a lot of apathy in our city, because the situation has been bad for a long time and continues to be that way.”
