Overall crime in San Francisco dropped last year, according to newly released statistics from the mayor's office and police department.
The stats are good news for Mayor London Breed as she revs up her re-election campaign, but some of her challengers say it's not enough.
While the city received national attention for crime, drug use and homelessness in 2023, leaders did take steps to address the issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom dispatched the highway patrol to help in the Tenderloin, the federal government cleared out a large part of downtown in the lead up to APEC, and the police department stepped up a number of crime interventions while the district attorney's office took a tougher stance on prosecutions.
"All of these things are starting to have an impact on what's happening as it relates to crime here in San Francisco," Breed said.
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In 2023, overall crime in the city dropped 7%. According to the mayor's office, in the first six months of 2023, burglaries dropped 16%. In the same period, larcenies dropped 41%.
But Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who's running against Breed, said there's one important category where numbers have not dropped: violent crime.
"That's why when you talk to the average San Franciscan, they will tell you a story about their own personal interactions with some level of violent crime," Safai said. "And so the mayor is still failing."
Another mayoral challenger, Daniel Lurie, said the overall drop in crime is a hint of good news in what he said is still a challenging time for the city.
"We've had so many store closures, so much of downtown is boarded up," Lurie said. "But listen, today, we welcome good news."
Breed said the city is still dealing with an image issue. She's hoping the statistics and people's overall experiences will help start changing that image.
