Fresno doesn’t need any National Guard deployment, as crime is way down | Opinion

The COVID pandemic year of 2020 was brutal for violent crime in Fresno. That year the city tallied 74 murders and 732 shootings.

Fast forward to this year: Fresno has had 14 murders and 115 shootings so far, said Police Chief Mindy Casto. For the same period last year there had been 22 murders and 159 shootings.

In fact, crime has dropped year over year in all the major categories save one, she said. Commercial burglaries are up, but by less than 1%, she noted.

If President Trump had offered five years ago to send the Nattional Guard to help combat crime in Fresno, Casto would have accepted the offer. But now, she said, military troops are not needed.

“Probably in 2020 or 2021, I would have said send them. It was tough,” Casto said. “But I think now we just don’t need that. The numbers don’t support that. We’ve got a good thing going. We do intelligence-led policing and that’s how we use our resources wisely.”

Trump has deployed National Guard units to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and has said he might send some to Chicago and Memphis. The deployments have been controversial, with mayors and governors saying troops are not needed and that they run roughshod over local control.

Casto shared the statistics in a meeting with The Bee Editorial Board. It was the board’s first session with Casto since she was named chief in February. She is the first woman in Fresno’s history to lead the department.

For Casto, it was the culmination of a career-long rise through the ranks in Fresno, the only department she has known. She started as a cadet in 1996 and worked her way up, being named deputy chief in August 2022 before rising to the top spot.

Fresno residents support police

Asked to explain the drop in crime, Casto offered several reasons:

Chief among them is the backing Fresno residents give their police officers, she said. “Our officers feel supported here and it helps them go out and do the proactive police work that helps keep this community safe.” Casto said that is not necessarily the case in certain Southern California or Bay Area cities.

Next in importance is the backing of District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp. “We have a district attorney here who is very dedicated to prosecution. She’s a good partner to us.”

A third key is good relations with other agencies at the county and state level, particularly the unit that monitors gang members in Fresno. Casto said the city has 25,000 identified gang members, and in the past much of the city’s crime has come from their conflicts.

She was a skeptic of a new effort to redirect habitual violent offenders from criminal behavior. Called Advance Peace Fresno, the program challenges repeat criminals to learn how to deal with problems and frustrations in nonviolent ways.

Casto did not expect it to yield good results, but has become a believer over its early years of operation in Fresno. She said Advance Peace participants have been used to calm down situations in neighborhoods before they get out of hand.

“When you can stop the retaliation shootings, you really start to cut back on the shootings overall,” she noted.

Goal for low-priority crime offenses

An area Casto wants to improve is what are called low-priority calls for help, such as burglaries or break-ins. Sometimes a caller can wait an extended period before an officer arrives to find out what happened.

She would also like to increase the number of women officers, but only if they are qualified. About 14.5% of the officers are women, and the department’s goal is to reach 30% by 2030.

It is clear from interviewing Casto that she cares deeply about Fresno. She is a fourth-generation Californian who gives every indication she plans to continue as the city’s police chief for quite some time.

Getting the job meant learning who she really reports to, Casto said.

“It isn’t until you sit in this seat that it really becomes clear that your boss is the community. It’s not the city manager. I answer to her, but it really is the community.”

Residents should not hesitate to contact Casto with questions or concerns. She’s ready.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM.