Police Department
Appears in 11 stories · Last updated Nov 7, 2026
Beneficiary of the donated space
San Francisco's police surveillance unit has run rent-free out of a downtown office tower for a year and a half. A new resolution would let it stay through March 2032, on a gift from cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs valued at $5.5 million.
Updated 4 days ago
Implementing promised reforms; Special Victims Unit at 38 staffers
San Francisco police leaders promised to overhaul rape investigations at an Oct. 8 City Hall hearing, after reporting showed the department cleared 14% of rape cases in 2025, half the national average. Chief Derrick Lew and Special Victims Unit Captain William Toomey agreed to require checklists before a case is shelved, monthly supervisor reviews and annual audits.
Updated Oct 30
Investigated the murder; case unsolved
Eight years after Brian Egg's dismembered body was found there, the SoMa house at 224-228 Clara Street sold at auction for $980,000 on October 8. It is marketed as a development site with capacity for nine condo units.
Updated Oct 28
Handling neighbor complaints; assigned a plainclothes officer
San Francisco supervisors voted Oct. 20 to let the city auction the tax-defaulted Sea Cliff house at 250 32nd Ave., and the mayor signed the resolution three days later. The four-bedroom home owes more than $342,000 in property taxes dating to July 2021.
Updated Oct 26
Receives 311 drug activity reports
San Francisco's 311 app now sends public drug use reports to police. The city added the 'public drug activity' category on Oct. 22, after hundreds of drug-use complaints filed through the app were closed without being forwarded to officers.
Updated Oct 24
Operates drone program under Prop E
The San Francisco Police Commission voted 5-1 on Oct. 14 to advance its first drone policy since voters legalized police drone use in 2024. The rules allow drones for public safety responses, bar general surveillance and monitoring protests, and require a warrant before a drone peers into a home or enclosed yard.
Updated Oct 19
Under new data retention and search oversight rules
San Francisco police remove Flock license plate data from the company's platform after 30 days, then move a copy to an internal SFPD system for another 11 months. San Jose, Oakland and South San Francisco delete such data after 30 days, and Flock recommends seven days. Critics say moving data is not deleting it.
Updated Oct 17
As of October 2026: Deploying BriefCam in Real Time Crime Center
The San Francisco Police Department has deployed BriefCam, an AI video analysis platform developed by an Israeli tech firm. Israeli authorities used the same tool to monitor Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The $198,000, three-year contract, funded by federal grants, supports the department's Real Time Crime Center.
Updated Oct 6
As of September 2026: Short about 500 officers; reassigning investigators to events
San Francisco's burglary and robbery detectives are being pulled off their cases to staff parades, protests, and tech conferences. The police department, short about 500 officers, has moved Investigations Bureau inspectors onto a "platoon schedule" that covers special events.
Updated Sep 28
As of September 2026: Leading enforcement at the plazas
On Sept. 24, the city released a public dashboard tracking conditions at the 16th and 24th Street BART plazas. It shows ambassadors have collected 1,390 needles and reversed 15 overdoses since January, but 911 calls for drug activity have not fallen consistently.
Updated Sep 25
As of September 2026: Expanding enforcement under Mayor Lurie
San Francisco's jails are emptying. In March 2025, more than 1,300 people were locked up, pushing the county past its 1,236-bed capacity for the first time since 2003. By September 2026, the population had fallen to its lowest level since the pandemic.
Updated Sep 8
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