San Bernardino credits policing, community programs as violent crime rates fall

City officials used the State of the City address to highlight recent declines in violent crime and link those trends to increased policing and community engagement.

"Today, San Bernardino has more police officers than at any point since 2012," Mayor Helen Tran said. She reported that five years of work has coincided with a drop in homicides "from 72 to 25 last year, a whopping 65% drop," and that year-to-date homicides were 14. Officials also cited declines in robberies (down 19% last year) and burglaries (down 18% last year), with an additional 12% decline this year in some categories.

Tran and several councilmembers credited a mix of "data-driven policing" and community programs such as "coffee with a cop," National Night Out and school visits for strengthening trust alongside enforcement. Council members also highlighted the addition of sworn officers: speakers described 50 new sworn officers added over five years, 4 new recruits in the academy and 18 additional positions being filled.

City leaders thanked Chief Darren Goodman and the San Bernardino Police Department by name and described the approach as pairing enforcement with community outreach and neighborhood programs.

The presentation did not include an independent crime-data report or a detailed breakdown of where declines occurred within the city; council and mayoral remarks summarized citywide trends and attributed improvements to both policing and community engagement.