An increase in Fresno police patrols resulted in 101 arrests over the Easter holiday weekend, police Chief Mindy Casto said.
Casto said an operation is underway to increase police presence in response to higher-than-usual crime rates for the year so far, as well as two separate stabbings near River Park and Fulton Street.
“We came up with a quick-action plan for just this weekend to get through it,” Casto said at a Monday press conference. “Teams that were scheduled to be off were flexed to ensure that they could come in and proactively prevent additional violence from happening and increasing that fear that had already developed in our community.
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Casto said officers made 48 felony arrests and 53 misdemeanor arrests over the weekend. She said they also made contact with 124 gang members and recovered 15 guns connected to crime scenes.
Moving ahead, Casto said officers will increase their presence at various public events. She said the department would be particularly focusing on “crime hotspots.”
“We want to make sure we’re paying extra attention because we want Fresno to be safe,” Casto said. “We know that our presence makes a big difference.”
While Fresno had seen four homicides at this point last year, the current total for 2026 is nine. Casto said seven of this year’s homicides were gang-related.