Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that the 2025 Chinese New Year Parade weekend, coinciding with the NBA All-Star Game festivities marked San Francisco's lowest crime rates in recent history. According to the information released on the city's official website, crime during the celebration weekend was significantly reduced compared to previous years, with a 31% decrease from 2024 and a 58% drop since 2017. Violent crime also fell by 12% from last year and 45% from 2017.
Preparations were outlined in advance of the celebrations to ensure public safety, highlighting an all-hands approach where the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), Fire Department (SFFD), Sheriff's Office, and Department of Emergency Management (DEM) were fully staffed. These measures are aimed at quickly and effectively responding to keep the city safe and clean. The SFPD statistics showed a reduction to 236 Part 1 criminal incidents, with 38 being violent, down from 341 total crimes and 43 violent incidents recorded during the same period in the previous year. January 2025 already saw a promising decline in crime by 28% year-over-year.
Celebration highlights included the busiest weekend for the Muni Metro light rail service since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 1.2 million passenger trips were provided by Muni buses and trains systemwide. San Francisco firefighters and paramedic EMTs conducted nearly 1,600 runs, while DEM 911 dispatchers answered 84% of calls in 15 seconds despite the influx of visitors.
"The eyes of the world were on San Francisco two weeks ago, and we rose to the occasion. Thanks to increased law enforcement presence and strong collaboration across public safety agencies, this year's parade weekend was the safest on record," Mayor Lurie said via the City and County of San Fancisco news. SFPD Chief Scott also acknowledged the hard work of his officers, "There can be no doubt that our officers had a significant impact on crime in this city. I know this came at a sacrifice for our members, who are working mandatory overtime and long hours. We are doing everything in our power to hire more officers and rebuild our ranks as quickly as possible to keep this momentum going."
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