Riverside State of the City: Lock Dawson Claims 35% Crime Drop, Touts $4.3B Building Boom

Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said Riverside is “strong, resilient and rising” and argued that “every metric is going in the right direction” during her 2026 State of the City address Wednesday, outlining five areas she said are helping the city “Leveling Up.”

Proclaiming that “every metric is going in the right direction,” Lock Dawson told attendees at the Riverside Convention Center that crime is down, revenues are up, unemployment is down, jobs are up, existing businesses are expanding and new businesses are opening.

“Riverside is a city that achieves and strives for more,” Lock Dawson said. “It is a city that believes progress is a responsibility”

Lock Dawson said the city has focused on improving quality of life through safety and stability, economic opportunities, health and the environment, identity, and building a city that “works for businesses today, residents right now, and generations to come.”

The mayor pointed to a two-year decline in crime, saying overall crime has dropped 35 percent. She credited smarter policing, partnerships and strategic investments, including 88 new police officers, which she said allowed the Riverside Police Department to reach full staffing for the first time in 25 years.

“I am proud to report that Riverside is an incredibly safe city and becoming safer every day,” she said.

Lock Dawson also cast Riverside’s economy as both expanding and shifting in the types of businesses it attracts. She said about 96 percent of office space in Riverside is occupied, giving the city one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country.

“Companies are not just looking at Riverside,” Lock Dawson said. “They’re choosing us.”

Positioning Riverside within what she described as a fast-growing regional economy, Lock Dawson said the city attracted $4.3 billion in new construction in 2025 and created 18,000 new jobs. She said Riverside Public Utilities offers some of the lowest electricity and water rates in the state, and said six international companies have located in the city in the past two years as Riverside grows its innovation economy.

“When innovation clusters, jobs follow,” Lock Dawson said. “And leveling up our economy means making City Hall move at the speed of business.”

As part of that push, Lock Dawson said a new self-certification pilot program will help businesses secure building permits faster. She said new regulations will make it easier for entrepreneurs to turn underutilized spaces into new businesses, and said a new app is encouraging more people to shop locally.

On health care and the environment, the mayor highlighted expansion across higher education and hospital systems, including the UC Riverside School of Medicine graduating its largest class of doctors and the construction of a new teaching hospital. She also pointed to growth in medical training programs at California Baptist University and La Sierra University, a nearly $1 billion expansion underway at Riverside Community Hospital, and a Kaiser Permanente hospital expansion in La Sierra expected to open in 2027.

Lock Dawson said the city is also pushing cleaner energy and air-quality initiatives, citing Riverside’s status as one of the top 11 cities nationally for installed solar capacity per capita. She also said the city launched what she called the world’s only Clean Air Carshare Program using 12 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and broke ground at the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center.

“But we must do more,” Lock Dawson said. “By 2027, 70 percent of Riverside’s energy will come from renewable sources, it’s not just good for the planet but good for business”

Lock Dawson said Riverside is also “leveling up” its identity with residents and visitors.

“People feel connected here,” Lock Dawson said. “They love where they live. And they’re proud to call Riverside home.

She noted that the city’s Arts and Culture District has been designated as a California Cultural District by the California Arts Council and said the Visit Riverside initiative has reached 20 million people. She also announced a new effort, Preserving Riverside’s Treasures, aimed at improving many of the city’s 153 landmarks.

“Through this initiative, we’re committing to protecting and celebrating these places as living parts of Riverside’s future,” Lock Dawson said.

The mayor also highlighted neighborhood-focused investments and city services, including community centers that served more than 1.5 million people last year. She cited park and playground upgrades and said additional improvements are planned at Orange Terrace Community Center, Hole Lake and Fairmount Park.

In the Eastside neighborhood, Lock Dawson said $300 million in state investment will fund a new Jesus Duran Library, renovations at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, and construction of the Dell Roberts Bordwell Park Gym.

Lock Dawson also cited expanded senior services, saying Riverside’s senior centers now serve more than 75,000 seniors and deliver over 31,000 meals annually. She said her new Senior Forum connected seniors to resources and created a space for seniors to make their voices heard.

The mayor also pointed to homelessness and housing pipeline goals, saying Riverside reached functional zero for youth homelessness, ensuring young people ages 18 to 24 can access housing, services and support. She said Riverside has 6,000 units of housing in the pipeline for seniors, students and families.

“This is Riverside’s moment,” Lock Dawson said. “This is Riverside’s future. This is Riverside — leveling up.”