California homicides continues to decline

For the second year in a row, Governor Gavin Newsom is celebrating California's declining homicide rate while using it as a cudgel against his political foes.

For the last three years, homicides are down in Los Angeles and San Francisco -- but also in cities such as Fresno, Oakland, Richmond and Lodi.

In his State-of-The-State speech earlier this month, Newsom said "California cities are seeing record-low homicide rates. He cited Oakland, which recorded its lowest homicide rate since 1967. San Francisco, which saw its lowest total of murders since 1954, while Los Angeles saw its fewest since 1966.

During the early days of the pandemic, California homicides surged by 31 percent. Then, in 2022, the state’s homicide rate dropped by seven percent, averaging double digits reductions in the following years.

CalMatters reports the last time California recorded such low homicide numbers, the state’s population was 20 million – about half of what it is today.