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Long Beach touts crime declines, strengthens protections for immigrants

City of Long Beach · January 14, 2026

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Summary

Mayor Rex Richardson credited a drop in violent crime, described police and fire staffing gains, and said Long Beach has reinforced the Long Beach Values Act and directed $5 million for legal services and housing stability to protect immigrant residents.

Mayor Rex Richardson told the audience Long Beach has hired roughly 200 new police officers over three years and completed four full-time police academies since 2023, including a recent class of 98 recruits. He said the city opened a new police training academy campus able to train about 100 officers at a time and cited reductions in violent crime: a 26% decline in homicides compared with the previous year and shootings down 36% year-over-year.

Richardson said the city expanded community crisis response teams that pair clinicians with first responders to provide care rather than enforcement on calls requiring mental-health support. "This past summer... one of the safest summers in years," he said while urging continued accountability and transparency, noting the city launched a public crime dashboard to share trends and data.

On immigration enforcement, Richardson said Long Beach strengthened the Long Beach Values Act "to ensure that no city resources are used to aid ICE," and announced the defending Long Beach Values Plan, directing $5,000,000 toward legal services, housing stability and financial support. He credited City Attorney Don McIntosh and said the city has joined federal litigation challenging certain enforcement actions.

Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan described staffing changes that have increased paramedic capacity and new rescue units coming online, while police Chief Wally Heebish highlighted expanded explorer and cadet programs to build future public-safety talent.

Next steps: Richardson said the city will continue to invest in staffing, crisis response teams and transparency tools and will monitor crime trends and the results of legal strategies to protect immigrant residents.