The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforcement powers anywhere within the state.

The California Highway Patrol can assist local and county agencies and can patrol major city streets along with local and county law enforcement, state and interstate highways, and is the primary law enforcement agency in rural parts of the state.

[6] Local police or the local sheriff's department having a contract with an incorporated city are primarily responsible for investigating and enforcing traffic laws in incorporated cities, but any peace officer of the CHP can still enforce any state law anywhere within the state, even though the agency's primary mission is related to transportation.

CHP officers enforce the California Vehicle Code, pursue fugitives spotted on the highways, and attend to all significant obstructions and crashes within their jurisdiction.

CHP officers are responsible for investigating and disposing of car accidents, disabled vehicles, debris, and other impediments to the flow of traffic.

They are often the first responders at the scene of an accident (or obstruction), and in turn summon paramedics, firefighters, tow truck drivers, or Caltrans personnel.

[8] Officers patrol in various vehicles including the 2014-2021 Ford Police Interceptor Utility, 2016-2023 Dodge Charger, and in 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe.

In September 2005, the CHP sent its two Mobile Field Forces (highly trained and equipped quick reaction/deployment teams for civil disturbances and/or disasters) to the Gulf Coast to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Before the National Guard arrived, the CHP had four patrol helicopters over Marianna, Florida, more than eighty vehicles on the ground, and more than 200 officers and other staff, including a SWAT team, deployed in New Orleans.

The CHP also has a Special Response Team (SRT) for rapidly responding to natural disasters or civil disturbances throughout the state.

Specialized training and equipment help to quickly quell unrest, preserve life, prevent property damage, and ensure the safety of the public.

[14] In 1999, Governor Gray Davis signed SB 400, which allowed CHP officers to retire at age 50 and continue receiving as much as 90% of their peak pay as a pension.

[16] As of 2019, a new contract was negotiated with the state, causing officers to increase their contribution to the retirement plan by deferring any percentage over 3% of their annual raise towards their pension.

Standard traffic enforcement patrol vehicles are required by state law to have a white door with, in the case of the CHP, a star.

The members of the foundation's board of directors have provided over $16 million in assistance to current, retired, and those fallen in the line of duty CHP employees and their families.

Since the CHP has no jurisdiction directly in Mexico, officers from the Unit work closely with Mexican authorities to recover and find stolen vehicles and assist with other law enforcement issues.

Of the incident, Ronald Reagan, who was governor of California at the time, said the following: "If anything worthwhile comes of this tragedy, it should be the realization by every citizen that often the only thing that stands between them and losing everything they hold dear ... is the man wearing a badge.

The underfunded CDFW Law Enforcement Division[31][32][33] has faced low numbers of Game Wardens also known as Wildlife Officers for the last ten years; a similar idea is already in place in Oregon and Alaska, where the Oregon State Police[34] and Alaska State Troopers[35] serve as game wardens under a separate fish and wildlife division within the two departments.

When motor vehicles in California were first seen as needing legislation, law enforcement agencies began to patrol using motorcycles, cars and trucks.

[36]: 30 In 1998, CHP began using the BMW R1100RT-P, with features including a helmet interface for communications, two batteries, and a top speed of 130 miles per hour (210 km/h).

[38][39] The Department of General Services is responsible for selecting a vehicle based on price, performance and payload capacity for the CHP.

The department was paying $24,043 for the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors and recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars per month to maintain all vehicles no longer covered by warranty.

In July 2016, it was announced that the CHP would be taking delivery of 516 2016 Dodge Charger Pursuits equipped with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 in RWD configuration.

In 2017, it was announced that the CHP were going to start using Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV) for rural and resident posts, along with areas that see snowfall in the winter months.

As of 2023 the California Highway Patrol has officially rolled out its 299 2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility after a 3-year hold due to an issue involving the RF interference from the headlights to the department's VHF-Lowband radios.

As of October 2020, the fleet consisted of:[43] George Gwaltney, a former officer from Barstow, was convicted on May 10, 1984, in federal court for the on‑duty rape and murder of 23-year-old Robin Bishop on January 11, 1982.

The FBI was able to piece together the events leading up to the murder and the on-duty rape of Robin Bishop and interrogating Gwaltney's alibi, Preston Olson and his mother.

After the six-month investigation by the FBI, George Michael Gwaltney was arrested in Barstow and tried at the US District Court in Los Angeles.

[44][45] Craig Peyer, a former officer from Poway, is serving a forty-year prison sentence for the on-duty strangulation and murder of 20-year-old Cara Knott on December 27, 1986.

In 2006, two officers forwarded photos taken of Nikki Catsouras, a teenager who died in a motor vehicle accident, to colleagues without authorization.