Mayor Lurie Announces Chinese New Year Parade Weekend was Safest on Record

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today announced that the 2025 Chinese New Year Parade weekend was the safest since 2017. During the weekend of the parade and NBA All-Star Game activities, overall citywide crime was down 31% from the parade weekend last year and down 58% from 2017 Violent crime was down 12% this year versus last year and down 45% versus 2017.

Ahead of Chinese New Year Parade and NBA All-Star Weekend, Mayor Lurie and San Francisco public safety department leaders outlined extensive preparations to protect public safety, including full staffing at the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD), Sheriff’s Office, and Department of Emergency Management (DEM) as well as extensive interagency coordination to keep the city safe and clean. The weekend marks the second successful major event of the year, one month after the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference last month demonstrated the city’s ability to safely welcome large-scale events.

SFPD statistics show 236 overall Part 1 criminal incidents, including 38 violent incidents, reported between February 14 and 16, 2025. Part 1 crimes include property crimes like larceny and theft as well as violent crimes such as robbery and assault. Those figures are down from 341 overall crimes and 43 violent crimes during parade weekend (February 23-25) in 2024 and down from 559 overall crimes and 69 violent crimes during parade weekend (February 10-12) in 2017. Crime is at all-time low in San Francisco and continues to fall, with a 28% year-over-year decrease in January 2025.

Chinese New Year Parade and NBA All-Star Weekend also marked the busiest weekend for Muni Metro light rail service since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Muni buses and trains providing more than 1.2 million passenger trips systemwide. San Francisco firefighters and paramedic EMTs did nearly 1,600 runs, while DEM 911 dispatchers answered 84% of calls in 15 seconds, even with hundreds of thousands of visitors in the city.

“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,” said Mayor Lurie. “The results we saw over the Chinese New Year Parade and NBA All-Star Weekend are proof of what we can achieve. I want to thank our city leaders and all of the first responders, street cleaners, and Muni drivers for their tireless work to make these events a success.”

“I want to thank every member of the SFPD who stepped up to ensure our city was safe and fun on this important weekend for San Francisco,” said SFPD Chief Scott. “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.”