Outgoing San Francisco Mayor London Breed highlights "historic" drop in crime
A day before her successor was set to be sworn into office, San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday touted a 20-year low in the city's crime rate for 2024, including "historic" drops in the number of homicides and car break-ins.
The press release issued by Breed's office announced the dramatic drop in crime, citing statistics for 2024 marked by "numbers not seen in over 20 years." The announcement attributed to Breed and San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott said "the city made historic gains" including "a 60-year low in homicides and a record decrease in car break-ins."
The new numbers show that the overall crime rate in San Francisco for the past year was at its lowest point since 2001, with violent crime dropping 14% from 2023 and 26% from 2017. The property crime rate showed an even greater drop when compared to those two years, down 31% from the year prior and 46% from 2017.
San Francisco reported a total of 4,739 violent crimes and 30,991 property crimes in 2024.
City officials said there were only 35 homicides in San Francisco in 2024, a 60-year low and a 35% drop from 2023. The report also highlighted a substantial drop in auto break-ins, which were down 54% from year-to-year between 2023 and 2024 and under 10,000 incidents for the first time in nearly 15 years.
The announcement attributed to drop in crime to increased collaboration with the San Francisco Sheriff's Office and the SF District Attorney's Office as well as the introduction of new technology including drones and mobile security cameras and a concerted effort to crack down on open-air drug markets in parts of the Civic Center area and the Tenderloin.
"I'm grateful for the hard work by our law enforcement partners and everyone in the community working tirelessly to make our neighborhoods safer," Mayor Breed was quoted as saying in the release. "This shows that when we give our officers the tools and support, like we have with new technology, they can deliver incredible results. It also shows the value of how we've brought coordination between our Police Chief Bill Scott, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Sheriff Miyamoto and state and federal partners to unprecedented levels. Let's keep supporting our officers, our prosecutors, and our sheriff's deputies in their work to make San Francisco a safer city every day."
Crime and public safety in San Francisco were a point of major concern during the San Francisco mayoral campaign, with critics citing high-profile incidents like the Union Square shooting of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall and burglaries targeting high-end retailers in the neighborhood.
Despite Breed's attempts to highlight the drop in crime over the past year during the campaign, the continuing perception of San Francisco being a dangerous city contributed to her losing to political newcomer Daniel Lurie in the November election.
Lurie was scheduled to be sworn in as San Francisco mayor on Wednesday.
