Saluting a record year for CHP cadets, California’s next generation of law enforcement officers

What you need to know: Governor Newsom celebrates 137 new officers joining the California Highway Patrol, adding to the year's total of 780 trained and graduated cadets.

SACRAMENTO - As we near the end of 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom today commemorates the last California Highway Patrol (CHP) graduating class of the year with 137 cadets, who will be placed throughout the state to protect and serve communities. This marks a huge achievement for the CHP, which graduated 780 cadets in 2025 alone. The CHP continues its efforts to recruit highly qualified individuals to protect the state's community safety.

I'm proud to see the young women and men stepping up to keep our communities safe. As we close out the year, California continues to make real progress - strengthening protections across the state while staying focused on the needs of the people we serve.

Governor Gavin Newsom

"These cadets have been pushed to their limits and faced significant pressure, but despite all the hardships, they never gave up," said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. "Their determination to keep going, even when facing challenges, demonstrates their dedication to helping others and serving the people of California. The CHP proudly welcomes these new officers and looks forward to the remarkable achievements they will make throughout their decades of service."

During their 26 weeks in the CHP Academy, cadets trained in vehicle code enforcement, crash and criminal investigations, emergency vehicle operations, and officer safety. The Academy's curriculum also focuses on legal responsibilities, communication, ethics, and cultural awareness, in order to prepare cadets to serve California's diverse population. Earlier this week, the cadets took part in a 5-mile run as one of the last parts of their training. The new officers begin reporting to one of the CHP's 102 Area offices across the state on December 15.

A growing force protecting Californians

The CHP's recruitment initiatives over the past few years - including the launch in 2022 of the statewide "Join the CHP 1000" campaign and the "Cadets" web series - continue to drive strong interest in law enforcement careers.

Including today's newly sworn members, the CHP has brought on more than 2,300 officers from January 2022 through December 2025.

From 2022 to 2024, applications increased by more than 52%.

The CHP is on track to receive more than 33,000 applications by the end of the year, continuing the upward trend.

• 2022: 16,077 applications

• 2023: 19,590 applications

• 2024: 25,477 applications

Strong regional law enforcement partnerships

In August, Governor Newsom announced the next phase of the state's crime-fighting efforts - deploying new CHP crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state - San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

CHP officers assigned to Crime Suppression Teams have already saturated high-crime areas, which as of this month has led to 1,446 arrests, 249 stolen vehicles recovered, and 63 illicit firearms seized since expanding these crime-fighting efforts. Additionally, K-9 teams have joined this crime protection effort to continue supporting CHP officers.

Crime is down in California, again

California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California's Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

Given those investments and key partnerships with local law enforcement agencies statewide, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%). Another data set released by the California Department of Justice found that nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. California's 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966.

In August 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state's robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California's crime rate remains at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

As part of the largest-ever state investment to fight organized retail crime, Governor Newsom announced in 2023 that the state allocated $267 million to 55 communities to help them combat this issue. These funds have allowed cities and counties to hire more police officers, make more arrests, and pursue more felony charges against suspects.

Join the CHP today

Enhancing public safety remains a top priority for the Governor and in November 2024 California successfully met its multi-year CHP recruitment goal of 1,000 new officers to the force.

The CHP continues to actively recruit dedicated individuals who are ready to make a difference in communities throughout California. A career with the CHP offers comprehensive training, competitive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth and advancement.

To learn more about joining the CHP, please visit here to take the first step towards a rewarding career in law enforcement.