SF is winning on metrics. Residents in the hardest-hit neighborhoods aren't buying it.
SF is winning on metrics. Residents in the hardest-hit neighborhoods aren't buying it.
The week of March 16 was the most violent San Francisco has seen in three months. Drug 911 calls have more than doubled since last year. And Muni is celebrating record satisfaction scores.
That gap — between what the data dashboard says and what people are actually living — is the story this week.
The Mission Had 39 Violent Incidents in One Week This March
The Mission's worst week in months
The week of March 16–22, San Francisco logged 191 violent incidents citywide — up 34% from the 12-week average. The Mission alone accounted for 39 of them.
The Tenderloin (34) and SoMa followed. This wasn't a citywide blip. It was concentrated, and it was the worst stretch since December.
Drug 911 Calls Have More Than Doubled Since 2024. The Tenderloin Isn't the Only Story.
Drug crisis calls have doubled. Citywide.
SF logged 2,937 drug-related 911 calls through April 9 — up 37% from the same period last year. Monthly totals have roughly doubled from around 400 calls per month.
The Tenderloin gets the headlines, but the data shows this is spreading. That's not a Tenderloin problem anymore. That's a city problem.
Muni Says Riders Love It. Bayview and North Beach Riders Are Filing Pass-Up Complaints.
Muni is proud. Bayview isn't clapping.
Muni announced record rider satisfaction in early 2026. Then 323 pass-up complaints hit the 311 system in the first 8 days of April alone — up 34% from March.
Pass-ups mean the bus came, saw people waiting, and kept moving. Bayview and North Beach riders are filing the most complaints. Satisfaction surveys don't ask the people who got left at the stop.
SF's Emergency System Had Its Best March in Two Years. Here's the Catch.
911 response times improved. Read the fine print.
Priority A emergency calls hit their lowest monthly total in over two years in March — 4,564 calls, with paramedic response times improving to 4.95 minutes. That's genuinely good.
But fewer Priority A calls doesn't automatically mean fewer emergencies. It can also mean how calls get classified. The improvement is real. The context matters before you celebrate.
The Compliment Hotline Nobody Knew About
Someone is complimenting Muni bus drivers
Buried in SF's 311 system is a subcategory called "Muni Employee Feedback: praise_employee." It is, functionally, a compliment hotline for bus drivers — and people are actually using it.
In a week full of pass-up complaints and violent incident spikes, it's worth knowing this exists. Sometimes the data surprises you in the right direction.
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