Newsom Announces City-Wide Drop In Crime Rates

Violent crimes decrease across the board; results attributed to district trend specific strategies

At a Northern Police Station press conference in the Western Addition, Mayor Newsom and Chief Fong today announced that violent crimes have significantly dropped city-wide compared to the same time last year. Violent crimes, particularly assaults, homicides, robberies and sex offenses have dropped by 10%*.

Mayor Newsom said, “We have shown that by working collaboratively with other agencies, being creative in our strategies, and communicating with the communities, we can bring change and make San Francisco a safer place for our children and families to live in.”

I am proud of the work of our dedicated officers who spend time to get to know the communities, “ said Chief Fong, “In addition, by maximizing our resources to address trends based on reports, we can tackle the problems head on, “ continued Chief Fong.

Homicide rates were significantly high this time last year totaling 58** cases, whereas this year, we have 42 cases to date, which is a drop of 27.5%. Assault cases have dropped by 18% and Sex Offenses have dropped by 15%. Robberies have dropped 4%. These are all violent crimes committed against people.

Since the beginning of Newsom’s administration and under the leadership of Chief Fong, a number of policies and programs were implemented to address the crime rates in San Francisco, such as implementing Big Four Beats, Operation Impact – a collaboration with the California Highway Patrol, updating Operation Ceasefire, increasing Gang Task Force by 40%, operating Narcotics Buy Programs, and the Gun Buyback program. The Police Department has also been working closely with the US Attorney’s Office, US Marshal Service, Adult and Juvenile Probation Offices, State Parole Office, ATF, FBI, and the DEA to decrease the number of guns and dangerous felons on our city’s streets.

The SFPD has appreciated the support from residents in providing information to keep neighborhoods safe. Their 24 hour confidential tip line is 415.575.4444.

Based on figures as of July 9th
**Based on figures as of July 27th.

Source: Mayor Newsom's Office