Interim chief reports drops in major crimes but highlights shootings and arrests

Interim Chief Paul Yette told the Police Commission on Oct. 8 that the week ending Oct. 5 showed notable declines in several major crime categories but also included multiple serious incidents requiring investigative follow-up.

Yette said year-to-date Part 1 crimes are down 26% compared with 2024 and total violent crimes are down 18%. He reported 19 homicides to date — a 21% decrease from the prior year — and noted gun violence was down 20%. Property crimes were down about 28%, with burglaries down 28% and larceny/theft down 23% compared with last year.

Despite overall declines, the chief reviewed several active and recent incidents: a reported homicide during the reporting week, multiple shootings (including incidents on Sept. 30 in the Mission and at 16th and San Bruno), a September 21 attempted-murder incident with an arrest on Oct. 3 in Oakland, and a range of arrests and seizures tied to narcotics enforcement (the chief cited seizures including 180 grams of fentanyl, 57 grams of methamphetamine, 16 grams of cocaine, $25,000, a fentanyl press and an unserialized firearm described as a "ghost gun").

Yette also highlighted operational efforts such as bait-bike operations that led to felony arrests in the Park District and described the department’s response to a mental-health-related arson event in the Tenderloin in which officers and firefighters were injured.

The chief closed by previewing large events (Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Fleet Week, Italian Heritage Festival, Dreamforce) and the department’s staffing plans and traffic impacts for those gatherings.

No formal actions resulted directly from the report.