SFPD reports overall drop in Part 1 crimes but rise in homicides

Assistant Chief Thomas Scheuer presented recent Part 1 crime statistics at the Jan. 26 Police Commission meeting, reporting year-to-date declines in most categories but a troubling rise in homicides.

"Total Part 1 crimes are down 17% year to date," Scheuer said during his review of the last 28-day reporting cycle. He told commissioners violent crime was down 4% and property crime down 20% compared with the same timeframe last year; the department counted 419 fewer Part 1 crimes year to date. Scheuer added that homicide was the one uptick: "We have eight homicides year to date versus four for [the prior comparable period]," and cautioned that with a small data set it can be hard to interpret trends.

Commissioners pressed Scheuer on whether the homicides were connected and what steps the department is taking. Scheuer said he did not see a single connecting trend after reviewing the eight cases and noted the city and nearby large Bay Area cities have experienced higher homicide counts than last year. He described an existing violence-reduction program that has placed officers in affected neighborhoods, and said shootings remained "flat" year to date — 15 shootings this year versus last year — which he suggested is a more telling indicator of ongoing violence.

The commission asked for follow-up data comparing shootings and other violent-crime indicators to prior years; Commissioner Hammer suggested staff provide a shootings comparison at the next meeting to help contextualize the homicide count.

No policy action was taken; the discussion set a Feb. follow-up for additional data and for the Feb. 9 mental-health hearing, which commissioners said is tied to efforts to reduce violent incidents involving people in crisis.