Newsom Freed Thousands of Criminals During COVID. Now Crime Is Out of Control

California’s crime crisis has spiraled out of control, and Gavin Newsom is to blame. Under his leadership, violent crime has skyrocketed, businesses are fleeing, and once-iconic cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have become unlivable. The numbers tell the story:

• Homicides jumped by 33.9% in 2022.

• Aggravated assaults rose by 25.3%.

• Gun-related homicides surged by 37.7%, while gun-related assaults spiked 61.1%.

These are just the reported cases the real numbers are likely much worse.

Newsom’s decade-long push for soft-on-crime policies has left California reeling. His reckless decision to release tens of thousands of criminals during COVID under the false pretense of “public health” only made things worse.

• California’s prison population dropped from 160,000 in 2011 to just 91,556 in 2024.

• Newsom has shut down or is in the process of closing four state prisons.

• He is transforming San Quentin, once home to the nation’s largest death row, into a “rehabilitation center” with no evidence that it will reduce crime.

While Newsom insists he is “making all of us safer,” reality tells a different story. Crime is surging, and law-abiding Californians are paying the price.

The effects of Newsom’s policies extend beyond violent crime. Mass theft, homelessness, and lawlessness have forced major retailers to abandon California’s once-thriving urban centers:

• Nordstrom, Macy’s, Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Old Navy, Office Depot, 7-Eleven, and Denny’s have all shut down locations in San Francisco and Oakland.

• Target and Starbucks have also closed stores, citing rising theft and safety concerns.

• Even In-N-Out Burger, a California staple, closed a store near Oakland International Airport for the first time in its 75-year history, citing relentless crime.

Newsom blames “macroeconomic shifts” for these closures. But when even the federal government warns employees not to enter downtown San Francisco due to crime, it’s clear the problem isn’t just the economy it’s Newsom’s failed policies.

At the heart of California’s crime wave is Proposition 47, the George Soros-backed initiative that decriminalized theft under $950 and downgraded drug offenses. Newsom was one of its loudest supporters, helping it pass in 2014.

The result? Shoplifting, organized retail theft, and open-air drug markets have become the norm. Criminals brazenly walk out of stores with armfuls of stolen goods, knowing they won’t face consequences.

Even Newsom himself was forced to confront the reality of his policies. In early 2024, he watched a shoplifter steal from a Target without workers intervening. When he asked an employee why, she bluntly responded: “The governor lowered the threshold … there’s no accountability.”

California is drowning in crime because Gavin Newsom put criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens. His decision to empty prisons, weaken law enforcement, and decriminalize theft has turned the state into a haven for criminals and a nightmare for businesses and families.

No amount of spin can change the facts Newsom’s progressive experiment has failed, and Californians are suffering the consequences.

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