New Fremont Police Chief’s Crime Plan
- Fremont Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said this week he is making property crime and deadly traffic crashes his first targets, six weeks into the job after leaving Oakland and starting in Fremont on March 9. - Mitchell told ABC7 and CBS Bay Area that Fremont had seven traffic deaths in 2025 and five more so far in 2026, prompting him to expand the traffic unit and lean on patrol officers. - Fremont is keeping its 2024-2027 police strategy focused on crime mitigation, traffic safety, homelessness coordination and transparency as Mitchell takes over from retired chief Sean Washington. (fremontpolice.gov)
Fremont Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said his first priorities are cutting property crime and reducing deadly traffic crashes, six weeks after taking over the department. (abc7news.com) (cbsnews.com) Mitchell started work in Fremont on March 9, 2026, after City Manager Karena Shackelford appointed him following a nationwide search. He was sworn in as chief on April 16 after leaving Oakland’s top police job in December 2025. (fremont.gov) (nbcbayarea.com) In interviews this week, Mitchell said traffic safety “jumps off the page” in Fremont’s data. He said the city had seven traffic-related deaths in 2025 and five more deaths so far in 2026. (abc7news.com) His response is more enforcement. Mitchell said he has expanded the traffic unit and is working with patrol officers so they can “go after traffic violators” and change driving behavior. (abc7news.com) (cbsnews.com) Property crime is the other early focus. Mitchell told CBS Bay Area he wants to reduce theft and other property offenses, while KTVU reported residents raised car theft, retail theft and reckless driving as recurring concerns. (cbsnews.com) (ktvu.com) Mitchell said he is using data to decide where to send officers and which problems to hit first. “You go where the data takes you,” he told ABC7, describing a strategy built around neighborhoods, subjects and patterns. (abc7news.com) The traffic push lands in a city that has been warning about a rise in deadly crashes since 2020. Fremont’s transportation safety page says fatalities increased with reckless driving and crashes involving unhoused people after earlier declines following Vision Zero. (fremont.gov 1) (fremont.gov 2) Fremont’s existing police strategy already points in the same direction. The department’s 2024-2027 plan calls for crime mitigation, stronger traffic-safety work, coordination on homelessness, more accountability and more community engagement. (fremontpolice.gov) Mitchell has also tied public safety to trust. He told ABC7 Fremont is a sanctuary city and said municipal police leadership will need to rebuild confidence after federal immigration enforcement actions shook some residents. (abc7news.com) For now, Fremont’s new chief is framing the job in narrow terms: fewer thefts, fewer fatal crashes and clearer public reporting on what the department is doing. (abc7news.com) (fremontpolice.gov)
