Why Fresno benefits from having Police Chief Mindy Casto, its first woman in that post | Opinion
Thursday’s appointment of Mindy Casto as Fresno’s 24th police chief is a celebratory moment for the state’s fifth-largest city, not only because it has its first-ever woman in that role, but also because the police force gets closer to representing the diversity of its half-million residents.
Casto, 49, succeeds the city’s first Latino police chief, Paco Balderrama, who resigned last June because of an extramarital affair with a fellow police officer’s wife. Casto’s promotion was announced Thursday by Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Manager Georgeanne White at a brief press conference at City Hall.
Casto struck the right chord in addressing the media. “I’ve given 30 years of service to this department, and I have not one regret,” said Casto, one of four finalists for the job. “My entire adult life has been dedicated to the department and the people living and working in Fresno. Over those 30 years, I’ve fostered a deep sense of responsibility to the job of law enforcement and to the people living here that we serve.”
Casto – who has risen through the ranks as patrol sergeant, internal affairs, lieutenant, and deputy police chief – steps into the job at a time when the city’s violent crime rate is trending downward and benefiting from city funds to expand the force to more than 900 sworn officers.
She enjoys the strong backing of Dyer, who served as police chief for 19 years in his four decades on the police force.
“Since Mindy became the interim police chief, (police) department morale has increased dramatically, while crime has decreased significantly,” Dyer said. “I am fully confident that these trends will continue under the leadership of Police Chief Casto.”
It’s good that Casto understands it will be difficult for that trend of a decrease in violent crimes to continue forever. She acknowledges that police are conditioned to address problems.
“I know a lot will be expected of me … and the trust that’s being placed in me today is not taken lightly. I don’t plan to let you down,” said Casto. “There will be some rough times. This is a difficult job. All we do is (handle) problems day in and day out, and we do our best to make the best decisions based on what we know at the time.”
Her top priorities, she said, are to continue the reductions in violent crime, to increase police service levels, and improve the professionalism of police officers through training and mentoring.
A role model for girls and women
Above all, Casto is now a role model for women who want to be in law enforcement. She is not the first female police chief in the state. Ever since Coalinga hired Kay Halloway as the first female police chief in California, other cities have followed. There has been incremental increases in the number of female police officers. Nationally, fewer than 1% of police chiefs are women, and women account for 13% of police forces.
In 2022, Balderrama launched a 30x30 pledge that 30% of the police force would be female by 2030. He elevated Casto to deputy police chief that year.
In a media interview that year, Casto addressed that issue. “Oftentimes, women do have a different perspective; or, if it’s a male suspect, sometimes they do respond better to someone who is not presenting themselves in a challenging way,” she said.
National research backs her up. Female officers are less likely to use excessive force on the job, according to the National Policing Institute. They are also less likely to use a firearm or generate complaints against them, research shows.
We hope Casto’s leadership will make our communities feel safe. We wish her the best and want her to succeed, not only because she is a historic figure for Fresno, and a role model for girls and women. We also want her to succeed because if she does, Fresno will be a safer place for everyone.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM.