The Facts

San Franciscans used 311 to report public drug use at least 8,000 times this year, but none of those reports were forwarded to police, Garrett Leahy reports at The Standard. Instead, 311 closed requests and told residents to call police themselves, despite the Department of Emergency Management advising residents to only use 911 for true emergencies.

SolveSF records show residents repeatedly receiving “call PD” responses after their cases were closed.

The Context

The city presents 311 online services as one place to report street problems. Its public dataset even includes fields for the responsible agency and status notes, so routing a digital report should be routine.

The GrowSF Take

We shouldn't have to study City Hall’s org chart before asking for help. The Mayor should order 311 to properly handle these requests for help instead of closing them with no action, and if they refuse, then he should find new leadership to run the department.

Thank you to Supervisor Mahmood for "working with the mayor’s office to stop these complaints from falling through the cracks."