The Facts

Car break-ins are at record lows. We're down to just 10 per day across the whole city, down almost 90% from the peak in 2017. That's about 1,800 break-ins through June, compared to 30,000 in 2017 according to SFPD data.

“I feel like it’s a wrap,” [SF rapper] Berner said, citing the cops’ increasing use of drones and cameras. “Everything’s being recorded and documented. If you’re doing crime these days, I don’t know, man. It’s kind of crazy.”

The Context

The pivot toward enforcement happened in late 2023 under Mayor Breed. Along with Police Chief Bill Scott, and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Breed launched an intensive enforcement strategy using hot-spot patrols, bait cars, plainclothes officers, and investigations of organized burglary crews. Reported break-ins fell from about 21,800 in 2022 to 8,500 in 2024, a 61% decline.

In March 2024, voters approved Proposition E with 54% of the vote, giving the San Francisco Police Department broader authority to use drones, cameras, and new investigative technology. The criminals noticed.

The GrowSF Take

Better policework alongside better technology like drones and cameras, which our polling shows over 70% of San Franciscans support, is working. The activists who treated cameras and drones as a greater threat than organized burglary crews were wrong.

Breed, Scott, and Jenkins deserve credit for changing course. Voters were right to approve Proposition E, and Mayor Daniel Lurie is right to keep the pressure on.