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Mayor Selenas credits policing changes and tech for 2025 crime declines, urges oversight of LPRs and drones
Summary
Mayor Mark Selenas reported year-over-year crime declines in 2025, credited patrol redesigns, technology and regional collaboration, and said the city continues to monitor license-plate readers and drone operations while reviewing contracts and privacy protections.
Mayor Mark Selenas said public safety remains Hayward residents' top priority and presented data showing reductions in several crime categories in 2025.
Selenas reported vehicle thefts were down 44%, theft from automobiles down 31%, vandalism down 30%, non-residential burglaries down 27%, residential burglaries down 14% and robberies down 21%. He credited the Hayward Police Department's investments in technology, redesigned patrol beats and new patrol-shift programs along with regional coordination for the improvements.
The mayor also addressed the city's use of surveillance tools, saying license-plate-reader services (cited by name in the remarks) and a drone program have helped apprehend serious offenders and improved officer safety in some cases. At the same time, he said, ‘‘support for technology does not mean blind acceptance'' and called for responsible governance: regular contract reviews, legal-authority checks, operational-policy oversight and active engagement with vendors and the city attorney.
Selenas thanked officers for adapting to revised patrol structures designed to align service with council-member and voter-district boundaries and said those changes should improve service delivery and save money over time.
