On May 10th, 2022, we requested the records of every traffic violation the San Francisco Police Department has cited over the past 5 years. On May 24th, they sent us a spreadsheet with 64,200 citations which we painstakingly cross-referenced against over 400 CVC violation codes. This is our analysis of SFPD's traffic enforcement activity over the past 4 and 1/2 years.

Traffic Enforcement Has Collapsed

It is no surprise that SFPD traffic enforcement collapsed during the pandemic, due to Mayor London Breed's shelter in place directive as well as tens of thousands of people working from home over the past two years. However, as we emerge from the pandemic and traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels, SFPD traffic enforcement is not keeping pace with the rapid return of vehicle traffic across San Francisco. In 2019, the SFPD wrote 27,029 traffic citations which averages out to about 74 per day. As of May 23rd the SFPD has written 1,368 traffic citations in 2022 which averages out to just 10 per day. The California DMV estimates that there are approximately 472,409 vehicles in San Francisco. To assume that all but nine of these 472K+ vehicles are being driven safely and in accordance with the law is ridicuous. San Francisco has lost 18 people to traffic violence so far in 2022 and is tracking to lose 38 by the end of the year which would make 2022 the city's deadliest year since 2007. Crash data from the San Francisco Department of Public Health shows that a driver crashes their car and hits someone hard enough to require a police report EVERY 4 HOURS. That's six times a day, every single day and yet San Francisco's political leadership continues to ignore the rampant, reckless driving that is severely endangering the lives of the people who live, work and visit here.

The High Injury Network & Focus on the Five

In 2017, San Francisco designated the 13% of city streets that account for 75% of severe and fatal injuries as the High Injury Network (HIN). The HIN was modeled from statewide crash data collected between 2008-2012 and has not been updated in 5 years. In 2012 the SFPD announced its "Focus on the Five" (FOTF) program which set a goal of issuing at least 50 percent of traffic citations for the five most common violations that cause pedestrian injuries. Our analysis of SFPD citation data from January 2018 - May 2022 shows that FOTF citations have averaged around 35% of all citations written YOY as the first chart shows. Furthermore the FOTF citations that are written on the HIN are a tiny fraction of all citations written citywide. If San Francisco is ever going to get serious about Vision Zero and ending traffic violence on its streets, one obvious thing it can and must do immediately is require SFPD traffic company to focus exclusively on citing "Focus on the Five" violations on the High Injury Network.

The following three charts all show the total number of traffic citations written YOY in San Francisco. The first shows the number & percentage of citations that were written on the High Injury Network, the second that were "Focus on the Five" and the third chart shows that just a tiny fraction of all citations written were on the High Injury Network and "Focused on the Five" which is exactly where we believe SFPD Traffic Company should be focusing their attention.

Equity Priority Communities

The SFCTA defines Equity Priority Communities (EPCs) as communities that "include a diverse cross-section of populations and communities that could be considered disadvantaged or vulnerable now and in the future."  It is critical that policing done within EPCs is monitored closely to ensure EPCs are not overly policed and its residents are not discriminated against. All traffic enforcement conducted within an EPC must be focused on the five and on the High Injury Network. The following three charts show SFPD traffic enforcement activity within San Francisco's EPCs. The first chart shows the number & percentage of citations written in EPCs in comparison to the rest of the city. The second chart shows the nunber of citations written in EPCs that were focused on the five and the third chart shows the number of citations written in EPCs that were on the High Injury Network.

Equitably Focusing On The Five

Year over year approximately 35% of all traffic citations written citywide are "Focused on the Five", the top 5 traffic violations responsible for severe injury. However in Equity Priority Communities the YOY average of FOTF citations is only 20%, 15 points below the citywide average. This means that SFPD is disproportionately targeting EPC residents for non-FOTF violations which commonly are used for pretextual stops. Focus on the Five must be enforced equally across the city and it must represent at least 50% of all traffic citations issued by the SFPD, neither of which is currently happening.

The following chart shows the top ten violation categories cited. These categories are composed of multiple CVC violation codes which we grouped together for convenience and clarity. For example, the violation codes for running a red light and failing to stop at a stop sign are grouped together under "reckless driving".

The following chart shows a breakdown of the "Focus on the Five" violations cited by the SFPD. In 2012 the SFPD announced its "Focus on the Five" (FOTF) program which set a goal of issuing at least 50 percent of traffic citations for the five most common violations that cause pedestrian injuries. Our analysis of SFPD citation data from January 2018 - May 2022 shows that FOTF citations have averaged around 35 percent of all citations written each year, significantly below the 50 percent goal.

The following list shows the violation codes we received from the SFPD with their corresponding descriptions. Many violations have sub-codes that capture details such as whether the driver was turning left or right or if the offender was a minor or an adult.

This project took two months to sunshine the SFPD, analyze the data we received and build this map. No one hired us to make this. We made this because we care deeply about police accountablity and safer streets and we need your help. We are committed to gathering and sharing data with you that will help us pressure our elected officials to make our safe streets safer and hold them accountable for inaction. If you value this project, please make a donation so we can continue doing this work.