Public Safety

Public safety is one of the City’s highest responsibilities and one of our clearest priorities. In Long Beach, that means building a safer city through faster hiring, stronger emergency response, smarter deployment, community-based policing, and crisis intervention that meets people where they are. It also means recognizing that true public safety is about more than enforcement alone. It is about trust, responsiveness, and ensuring every resident can access help, services, and support with dignity.

Strengthening Hiring and Staffing Across Departments

Through Measure JB, the Long Beach Jobs Promise, the City has streamlined hiring, expanded local preference for city jobs, and improved staffing capacity across departments. Long Beach is now operating with a 90-day hiring standard for many key positions, helping the City recruit and onboard employees faster while maintaining high service delivery standards.

Historic Police Hiring and Training Investments

Since 2023, the Long Beach Police Department has hired 200 new officers, more than in any three-year period in department history. The City has completed four full police academies, opened a new Police Training Academy Campus, and expanded its training capacity to accommodate up to 100 officers at a time. Class 100 is the largest academy class in LBPD history.

To support recruitment and retention, the City also introduced robust new incentives including childcare assistance and housing assistance for new officers.

Returning More Officers to Neighborhoods

As staffing has improved, more officers are being returned to neighborhood assignments, helping strengthen visibility, responsiveness, and community relationships. The City has also expanded High-Crime Focus Teams to address persistent public safety concerns in the areas that need the most attention.

Community-Based and Alternative Crisis Response

Long Beach continues to expand its Community Crisis Response teams, pairing clinicians and mental health professionals with response efforts to better address behavioral health and other non-violent calls for service. This approach helps connect residents to care while allowing sworn personnel to focus on other urgent public safety needs.

New Police Training Academy Campus

The City opened a new, modernized Police Training Academy Campus designed to support advanced training methods, de-escalation practices, community engagement, and 21st-century policing. The new campus strengthens Long Beach’s ability to train officers at scale while preparing them to serve with professionalism, accountability, and care.

Safer Streets and Stronger Results

The City’s public safety strategy is delivering measurable results. In 2025, Long Beach saw a 26% reduction in homicides and a 36% reduction in shootings year-over-year. Shootings were down 52% compared to 2021. Burglaries dropped 40%, with residential burglaries down 21% and commercial burglaries down 50%. Long Beach also ended 2025 with zero officer-involved shootings.

To improve transparency and keep residents informed, the City also launched a new public Crime Dashboard.

Fire Department Response and Rescue Capacity

The Long Beach Fire Department has made major investments to strengthen emergency medical and fire response citywide. The Department has prioritized proactive hiring ahead of retirements, expanded paramedic capacity, and increased rescue resources on the street to the highest level in city history.

Key improvements include the addition of full-time Paramedic Rescue 2, peak load Rescue 13, and the Paramedic Assessment Unit at Fire Engine 11. These investments build on expanded peak load staffing and larger fire academy classes, improving emergency response during high-demand periods and ensuring adequate coverage across the city.

Roadmap to Downtown Recovery

Mayor Rex Richardson launched the Roadmap to Downtown Recovery in 2024 as a signature initiative to strengthen public safety, economic vitality, and quality of life in the Downtown core. The initiative includes expanded foot patrols and Neighborhood Safety Bike Teams, targeted outreach and resolution of encampments with coordinated supportive services, enhanced mental health crisis response, and investments in small business support, storefront improvements, affordable housing, lighting, and streetscape upgrades.

By aligning public safety with economic development and neighborhood revitalization, the Roadmap is helping create a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming Downtown for residents, workers, businesses, and visitors.

Safety, Trust, and Belonging for Every Resident

Long Beach’s public safety vision also includes protecting community trust and ensuring residents can access services without fear. That includes supporting immigrant communities, advancing culturally competent outreach, and affirming the safety and dignity of LGBTQ+ residents. Public safety in Long Beach means building a city where every person feels seen, respected, and protected.