Police calls and complaints reach 10-year high at 16th & Mission

San Francisco has seen a dramatic spike in 911 dispatch calls and police activity near 16th and Mission — with early 2025 marking the highest call volumes in a decade.

The Facts

In March, dispatch calls for 16th and Mission streets rose to nearly 900 total — a 140% increase compared to the same month last year. Reported drug offenses and disorderly conduct more than doubled month-over-month, jumping from 45 in February to 107 in March, the highest in years, according to the Chronicle.

And 16th and Mission has logged more 311 complaints in January and February than at any point in the past 10 years, mainly about dirty sidewalks and homeless encampments.

The Context

Rising call stats reflect not only more crimes, but also more people reporting what they see, according to the Chronicle. And the city’s crackdown on open-air drug use in the Tenderloin and the 6th street corridor appears to have moved the problem to the Mission.

In recent months, here’s where SFPD has ramped up enforcement:

• 6th Street corridor: Police announced late January they had made 218 arrests as part of a 30-day campaign, including 124 for drug offenses and 36 for outstanding warrants.
• Jefferson Square Park: In late February, a coordinated operation led to nearly 90 arrests and seized about 1.2 pounds of narcotics.
• Market Street and Van Ness Avenue: A pre-dawn raid last month resulted in about 40 arrests.

In addition, Mayor Lurie’s administration has launched mobile triage centers and expanded behavioral health services. He's also consolidating disconnected street teams into a unified response network to better address addiction, mental health, and homelessness.

The GrowSF Take

The recent changes are moving the city in the right direction, but the illegal activity that remains around 16th and Mission shows how far we still have to go.