Dear Neighbor, 

San Diego remains one of the safest big cities in America—and the latest crime statistics prove it.

For the third straight year, overall crime in our city has gone down. According to the San Diego Police Department’s 2024 data, crimes against persons dropped by 1.1% and property crimes by 4.7%. That’s on top of a 2.7% reduction in crime in 2023. 

We’re seeing meaningful declines in nearly every category of crime—murders are down 22%, sexual assaults have dropped nearly 11%, and non-fatal shootings have decreased by 32%. These are real results that make a real difference in people’s lives. 

This continued progress is the result of exceptional work by our San Diego Police Department officers, strong partnerships with our communities, and the smart deployment of tools like license plate readers and Smart Streetlight cameras. 

I want to thank Police Chief Scott Wahl and every member of the San Diego Police Department for their dedication to public safety, and I thank all San Diegans who continue to work with us to keep our city safe. 

As we embark on the most challenging budget process of my administration, the latest crime report is proof that our past public safety investments are working—and it underscores why we must continue to prioritize them. Even in an era of austerity, my No. 1 job as Mayor is to keep San Diegans safe. That’s why the City’s draft budget protects police staffing by finding operational efficiencies, ensuring our officers have the resources they need to fight crime and protect the public.  

Some media reports have suggested that we are shutting down the San Diego Police Department’s Northwestern Division, which will result in no officers in the area to respond to calls—that is false. The draft budget proposes consolidating some management positions at Northwestern to achieve operational efficiencies, but patrol services will continue without interruption. Northwestern’s patrol officers and beat areas will be split between Northern and Northeastern Divisions. This means officers will continue serving these communities, they’ll just be stationed at a different division. Their work — and their presence — will remain. The Northwestern facility itself isn’t going away either — it will be repurposed to continue supporting police operations in the area. The Department is also exploring options to keep a front counter open for public walk-ins and in-person support. 

Both the Police and the Fire-Rescue Department are seeing net increases as part of the draft budget in order to keep communities safe and ensure the City of San Diego is properly staffed to respond to emergencies. 

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor. 

Amid falling sales tax revenue and rising costs for everything from fuel to labor, the City of San Diego is facing a $360 million budget deficit. Unfortunately, when Measure E failed, San Diegans lost a long-term solution to modernize how we fund parks and libraries. Without that structural fix, we’re left to right-size City services within existing revenue constraints. Just like any household that sees a drop in income, we’ve had to make some tough decisions to balance the budget—because, by law, we must. 

But here’s the good news: We’re not repeating the mistakes of the past. Back in 2010, during the Great Recession, the City browned out fire stations and closed libraries 50% of the time. We are not doing that this year. 

Instead, our draft budget proposal uses a combination of enhanced revenues and targeted reductions to protect core services. We’re raising revenue through fair, thoughtful measures like adjusting parking fees and transitioning trash collection costs for single-family homes—moves that free up tens of millions of dollars to protect core services like fixing streets and keeping our police and firefighters on the job. 

Thanks to these revenue-generating steps, every library will remain open—even if for fewer days—and no recreation center will be shuttered. That’s a direct result of the balanced, careful approach my team and I are taking.  

The hard reality is, if San Diegans and the City Council want to restore library and recreation center hours, it would require cutting something else—like reducing street repairs or scaling back funding for emergency responders. And, I don't think that's the right approach.  

This draft budget reflects a commitment to preserving what matters most while facing today’s fiscal realities head-on. 

Have a question for me? Submit it at askthemayor@sandiego.gov or vote on the question below that matters most to you:  
 
Why are you proposing to cut funding for the Humane Society? 

Is San Diego the only city facing a major budget shortfall, or are other cities dealing with similar deficits? 

If public safety is a top priority, why are there cuts proposed for the Northwestern Division police substation? 

Don’t toss your broken items—repair them instead! Fixit Clinics, hosted by the City’s Environmental Services Department and Zero Waste San Diego, offer free workshops where skilled volunteers help fix household items like lamps, bikes, and clothing.