Stockton will receive $2 million in state funding to prevent gun violence and reduce crime, officials announced Thursday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom named Stockton one of 42 communities across California to be given a slice of $107 million from the California Violence Intervention and Prevention, or CalVIP, grant program. The funding will be split among cities, counties, community-based organizations and tribal governments throughout the state.
“Public safety is as much about prevention as it is about enforcing the law. CalVIP invests in people and neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by gun violence,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the grants. “We’re supporting trusted community leaders who step in before a trigger is pulled — interrupting cycles of harm, saving lives, and creating real pathways to opportunity.”
The latest round of funding — the fifth — comes three months after a mass shooting at a toddler’s birthday party in north Stockton that killed four people, including three school-age children and injured 13 others.
The state says it has invested more than $350 million in CalVIP since 2019. The program “is an initiative aimed at enhancing public health and safety through support for community-based gun violence reduction efforts in communities that are disproportionately impacted by gun violence.”
The state said in Thursday’s announcement that the most recent data shows violent crime is down 12% in California’s major cities.
As of Dec. 1, there had been 34 homicides in Stockton in 2025, according to a police spokesman. The city reported 46 homicides during the same span the previous year.
The mass shooting over the Thanksgiving weekend occurred in a pocket of the city under the county’s jurisdiction.
According to a report from the Stockton Police Department obtained by Stocktonia on Thursday, total violent crime in the city is at a 15-year low, and nonfatal shootings are at a 13-year low. Homicides are at a six-year low, and robberies and juvenile victims of violent crime statistics are at five-year lows.
State Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom welcomed the governor’s announcement. Ransom said the move comes after “ongoing conversations and meetings” with Newsom.
“Stockton is a vibrant community with so much potential. As it overcomes the weight of unthinkable tragedy, today’s announcement is a meaningful step forward,” Ransom said in a statement, adding that she appreciated the state listening to her, other local leaders and the community.
“I appreciate Governor Newsom and CalVIP for engaging with my office and local leaders to ensure our community was heard,” Ransom said. “We have more work ahead, and the resources and partnerships must continue to keep our community safe and build a brighter future for Stockton.”
The funding will go “to support youth intervention and violence prevention efforts,” her office said in a statement, including “community-based strategies that prevent gun violence, interrupt cycles of retaliation, and expand services for youth and families most impacted by violence.”
State officials noted that violence prevention efforts made by Stockton using CalVIP funding, such as expanding “its nationally recognized Operation Ceasefire model” to children ages 12–17, have directly served nearly 600 high-risk youth and adults and supported trauma-informed wraparound services.
“Stockton’s efforts are improving the lives of its residents by empowering those who grew up around the gang culture to realize their potential and change their lives through the city’s proactive Operation Ceasefire initiative,” the state said.
“CalVIP funding is vital to sustaining and advancing Stockton’s locally driven violence-prevention and gang-reduction efforts,” said Lora Larson, Stockton’s director of the Office of Violence Prevention.
“With Cohort 5, we will build on this progress by increasing our reach and expanding school-based violence prevention, embedding violence prevention staff and support services directly on campuses to identify and intervene early with youth at elevated risk of victimization or involvement in violence.”