The Sheriff With California’s Worst Crime-Solving Record Is Running for Governor

Chad Bianco, former contributor to the far-right Oath Keepers and now Riverside County Sheriff, declared in the announcement of his 2026 candidacy for governor: ​“Californians want our streets cleaned up, tent encampments gone and public safety restored…We need a revolution of competence in government” (Horseman, 2025). Criminal justice reform, particularly Proposition 47, he says, ​“was everything that is bad about public safety right now, directly contributing to the increase in homelessness, mental health and drug addiction” (Fox News, 2024). Bianco has repeatedly vowed that as governor, he will ​“make crime illegal again” and ​“keep these criminals off of our streets and out of our neighborhoods” (Javid, 2025). Yet Bianco’s record shows a picture very different from his tough talk.

Riverside Sheriff fails to solve crimes and oversees high jail death rate.

During Bianco’s first six years in office (2019 – 2024), Riverside sheriff’s deputies cleared an average of just 9.2% of reported Part 1 crimes¹ — less than half the state average and last among the 57 sheriffs with arrest authority (Figure 1). Meanwhile, the county saw rising violent crime in areas patrolled by Bianco’s department and experienced 17% of California’s jail homicides despite housing only 6% of the state’s jailed population (CADOJ, 2025). In 2022 alone, 18 people died in Riverside custody — the highest number in 15 years — with at least five deaths attributed to fentanyl overdoses and others linked to inadequate emergency response (BSCC, 2023). That same year, a deputy was arrested on suspicion of smuggling narcotics into a county jail, underscoring the department’s failure to control contraband (CADOJ, 2025).

Figure 1. Percent of Part I violent and property offenses reported to California sheriff’s departments that are cleared (solved) by an arrest, 2019 – 2024

The Department’s budget is 24% above the state average per resident. 

Bianco can’t plead lack of resources. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department budget per county resident ($243) is 24% above the average of the other 56 sheriffs ($195), and 29% higher per sheriff’s‑jurisdiction resident ($1,498 versus $1,163 for all other sheriffs) (Controller, 2024). Yet the Riverside Sheriff’s Department ranks 6^th worst among 57 sheriffs in solving violent crime, 5^th worst in solving property crimes, and last in solving all major Part I offenses. In contrast, the San Bernardino Sheriff next door cleared nearly three times the proportion of Part I offenses (26.1%) in 2019 – 24, including 58.6% of violent (compared to 41.4% in Riverside) and 10.1% of property crimes (compared to 4.4% in Riverside).

Figure 2. Sheriff’s law enforcement costs per county resident and unincorporated county resident, 2023.

Violent crime is rising in sheriff-patrolled areas of Riverside County.

Besides the state’s worst crime clearance rate, what did Riverside’s rural residents get for their higher tax payments? By Bianco’s own numbers, violent crime rates rose by an alarming 18% in his jurisdiction during his six years in office, much faster than the 2% rise in the rest of Riverside County. When Bianco took office in January 2019, the rural areas of the county patrolled by sheriff’s deputies had a violent crime rate of about 30% below the county average. By 2024, as the areas patrolled by sheriff’s deputies became less safe, the gap had narrowed to just 20% lower.

Riverside’s violent crime trend also outpaced California’s other large counties’ — even those led by district attorneys Bianco criticizes as ​“soft on crime.” Among the 15 most populous counties, the average increase in violent crime was 13% — well below Riverside’s 18% rise under Bianco.

Riverside County suffers from above-average rates of drug overdose.

Finally, while county-wide trends cannot be laid solely at the Sheriff’s door, it is not encouraging that after larger-than-average overdose increases during Bianco’s term (2019−2024), Riverside County’s fentanyl death rate is 22% above the state average and its overall illicit-drug overdose death rate is 25% above the state average (USCDC, 2025). Instead of criticizing state drug policies, Bianco should be attending to the worse-than-average problems in his own county.

Talking tough about crime is not the same as fighting it. In today’s post-reform Riverside County, law enforcement has more money and just half as many crimes to solve, yet nowhere is ​“crime more legal” than in Sheriff Bianco’ jurisdiction. It is hard to take seriously Bianco’s promises to improve public safety or his complaints that California’s streets are less safe, government is failing, drug abuse is more rampant, and crimes occur ​“without consequences” when these ills are nowhere more true than in his own bailiwick. Given Bianco’s abysmal, worst-in-the-state record at protecting Riverside residents from crime, why would voters trust him with the governorship?

References

Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). (2023). Letter submitted February 7, 2023 by Starting Over Inc., Riverside All of Us or None, and ACLU Southern California. At: https://​www​.bscc​.ca​.gov/​w​p-con…

California Department of Finance (CADOF). (2025). Demographics, estimates, projections, intercensal populations. At: https://​dof​.ca​.gov/​F​o​r​e​c​a​sting…

California Department of Justice (CADOJ). (2025). Open Justice. Crimes and clearances. At: https://​open​jus​tice​.doj​.ca​.gov/​e​x​p​l​o​r​a​t​i​o​n​/​c​r​i​m​e​-​s​t​a​t​i​stics.

California Department of Justice (CADOJ). (2025a). Deaths in custody and arrest-related deaths. At: https://​open​jus​tice​.doj​.ca​.gov/data

California State Controller’s Office (Controller). (2024). County data. At: https://​coun​ties​.bythenum​bers​.sco​.ca​.gov/​#​!​/​y​e​a​r​/​2​0​2​2​/​o​p​e​r​a​t​i​n​g​/​0​/​s​u​b​c​a​t​e​g​ory_1

Fox News. (2024). CA sheriff blasts Newsom’s ​‘failed leadership’ on crime, proposes solution to fix ​‘disaster’: ​‘Had enough’. At: https://​www​.foxnews​.com/​p​o​l​i​t​i​c​s​/​c​a​-​s​h​e​r​i​f​f​-​b​l​a​s​t​s​-​n​e​w​s​o​m​s​-​f​a​i​l​e​d​-​l​e​a​d​e​r​s​h​i​p​-​o​n​-​c​r​i​m​e​-​p​r​o​p​o​s​e​s​-​s​o​l​u​t​i​o​n​-​f​i​x​-​d​i​s​a​s​t​e​r​?​m​s​o​c​k​i​d​=​0​7​c​0​8​f​7​d​1​e​a​7​6​8​1​8​3​a​3​4​9​b​0​e​1​f​1​d6994

Horseman, J. (2025). Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announces California governor run in 2026. 5 things to know about Chad Bianco, Republican candidate for California governor. Riverside Press-Enterprise. At: https://​www​.pressen​ter​prise​.co….

Javid, N. (2025). Bianco vows to reopen prisons, including Susanville, in 2026 governor bid. KRCR. At: https://​krcrtv​.com/​n​e​w​s​/​l​o​c​a​l​/​b​i​a​n​c​o​-​v​o​w​s​-​t​o​-​r​e​o​p​e​n​-​p​r​i​s​o​n​s​-​i​n​c​l​u​d​i​n​g​-​s​u​s​a​n​v​i​l​l​e​-​i​n​-​2​0​2​6​-​g​o​v​e​r​n​o​r-bid

Riverside County, Budget (2017−2024). Budget information. Budget archive. At: https://​riv​co​.org/​b​u​d​g​e​t​-​i​n​f​o​r​m​ation ; https://​riv​co​.org/​b​u​d​g​e​t​-​a​r​c​h​i​v​e​#​2​3​9​2​6​43287 – 3839837650

U.S. Centers for Disease Control (USCDC). (2025). CDC WONDER, Provisional mortality statistics. At: https://​won​der​.cdc​.gov/​m​c​d​-​i​c​d​1​0​-​p​r​o​v​i​s​i​o​n​a​l​.html

Please note: Jurisdictions submit their data to the official state or nationwide databases maintained by appointed governmental bodies. While every effort is made to review data for accuracy and to correct information upon revision, CJCJ cannot be responsible for data reporting errors made at the county, state, or national level.

Contact: For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact CJCJ Communications at (415) 621‑5661 x. 103 or cjcjmedia@​cjcj.​org.