Homicides Increase as San Francisco Loses Violence Intervention Funding

The San Francisco Police Commission confronted a stark contradiction: overall crime is plummeting, but people are dying at an alarming rate. Nine homicides year-to-date — up from just one at this point last year — dominated a meeting that also revealed the loss of state funding for the community intervention programs designed to prevent exactly this kind of spike. Commissioners pressed Chief Derrick Lew on what comes next as summer approaches, budgets shrink, and the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods brace for more violence.

• Homicides jump from 1 to 9 year-to-date as city loses CalVIP violence intervention funding heading into summer

• Chief defends new promotion practices that weigh resumes and interviews alongside civil service test scores, breaking eight years of strict rank-order policy

• SFPD recruiting hits historic highs — 803 applications in January, 100+ recruits now in the academy — but attrition remains a concern

• Annual military equipment report details 98 drones, 1 Bearcat, and plans to expand as commissioners demand more deployment data before Board of Supervisors vote

• In-custody deaths policy adopted unanimously, effective April 16, after expedited police union negotiations

• Mother of murder victim returns to demand action on unsolved homicides and youth resources

Why it matters: The loss of CalVIP funding — the state program that paid for community-based gun violence intervention — lands just as lethal violence is accelerating and the city faces a broader budget deficit that has already gutted youth programs. The convergence creates a gap in the city's violence prevention infrastructure at the worst possible time.