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Santa Rosa touts declines in homicides, adopts new tools and ordinances for public safety
Summary
Officials credited a drop in homicides and shootings, highlighted a new massage‑parlor ordinance, advanced a school resource officer MOU for council review and emphasized that local police will not conduct immigration enforcement under SB 54.
Santa Rosa city leaders and public‑safety officials on the city’s town-hall outlined recent public-safety trends, enforcement actions and policy changes, saying homicides and shootings fell sharply in 2024 while the city has adopted new tools and ordinances to address illicit businesses and public-safety needs.
Police Chief John Cregan credited a community‑policing approach and partnerships with local nonprofits and schools for helping reduce violence. "We saw 12 homicides in 2022, followed by 10 in 2023, and then a dramatic reduction in 2024… all the way to 2 homicides," Cregan said. He also said reported shootings fell 52% in 2024 (188 fewer shootings) and that officers removed 390 illegal firearms from the streets, including 124 ghost guns (privately manufactured firearms).
The council has recently approved a new massage‑parlor ordinance to give code enforcement and public‑safety personnel additional tools to address illicit massage businesses and suspected trafficking, officials said. The mayor described the ordinance as a response to resident complaints; details of the ordinance’s enforcement provisions and the council vote tally were not specified during the town hall.
On school safety, city and school leaders formed a 3‑by‑3 ad hoc committee (three council members and three school‑board members) that produced a memorandum of understanding the Santa Rosa City Schools board recently ratified. The MOU will appear on the City Council docket in early May for review and potential city action.
Chief Cregan addressed community concerns about immigration enforcement, citing state law. "Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, talks about local law enforcement officers are prohibited by state law from doing immigration enforcement," Cregan said, adding that Santa Rosa officers will not detain or ask about immigration status and the department posted its policy in English and Spanish online.
City officials also described technology investments and outside grant funding to support policing: a federal grant funded a "real‑time crime center" and license‑plate readers that city officials said helped identify vehicles connected to an organized retail‑theft group. Vice Mayor Eddie Alvarez listed roughly $900,000 in federal funding for the police department’s real‑time crime center among several grants the city has secured.
Officials emphasized hiring and outreach efforts, including recruitment of bilingual officers. Cregan said the department now has over 65 Spanish‑speaking officers and that the department posts policies and community letters in Spanish to build trust.
Where specific vote counts, ordinance text, or contract details were not disclosed during the town hall, officials said those items will appear on future council agendas or on department web pages.
