Interim SFPD chief reports citywide drops in most crimes, announces town hall after Tenderloin officer-involved shooting

Interim Chief Yip told the San Francisco Police Commission on Nov. 9 that many major crime categories are down year to date, but he flagged specific problem areas and scheduled public outreach after a recent officer-involved shooting.

Yip opened his weekly report saying robberies were "trending down 54% from the previous week" and that overall robberies are down "23%" year to date. He said Part 1 crimes are down 26% year to date and violent crimes are down 17%.

The chief said investigators identified an increase in "chain-snatch" robberies — forceful thefts of gold chains and similar jewelry — with 28 incidents since Aug. 1 and 11 in October. "The district with the most incidents was Mission Station or Mission District, which had 11 incidents, or 39% of this crime," he said, adding that Ingleside Station had eight incidents. He reported an average suspect age between 16 and 22 and said there have been nine arrests connected to that pattern.

Yip announced an officer-involved shooting on Nov. 9 at Market and O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin. The incident, he said, is being investigated by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, SFPD investigative units and internal affairs, and the Department of Police Accountability. He scheduled a town hall for Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. and said the department will issue a press notice and post related materials online.

The chief provided additional weekly details: 23 homicides year to date (a 23% decrease), gun violence down 14%, rapes down 15% and assaults down 13%. He also described three shooting incidents that produced seven victims in the week ending Nov. 9, including an Ocean Beach incident where five people were shot and four victims were juveniles.

On enforcement, Yip described coordinated operations with partner agencies that led to more than 70 arrests and seizures of nearly 10 pounds of narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. He said officers recovered four firearms and carried out targeted arrests on Nov. 5, including two arrests tied to an e-bike theft and related robberies.

The commission asked for questions; none were offered and there was no public comment on the chief's report. The department will hold the town hall on Nov. 18 and post materials on its website, Yip said.

The commission's next steps: no formal action was taken on the report; the chief's summary was received and filed as information during the meeting.