SFPD Citywide Plainclothes Teams Makes 135 Felony Arrests, Seizes Over 10 lbs. of Narcotics in Jan. and Feb. 24-021
The San Francisco Police Department citywide plainclothes teams made 135 felony arrests while seizing over 10 lbs. of narcotics and recovering 11 firearms in January and February, helping drive down crime and hold criminals accountable, Chief Bill Scott announced Monday.
Plainclothes officers are one piece of a citywide strategy to reduce some of San Francisco’s most challenging crimes, like drug dealing, robbery, auto burglary, retail theft, and sex trafficking.
The SFPD deploys plainclothes officers in crime hotspots that investigators identify through careful analysis of police data. SFPD plainclothes officers work closely and coordinate with investigations bureaus and uniformed patrol officers.
Plainclothes officers focus on crimes affecting their district stations and work together on citywide abatement operations. Tenderloin plainclothes officers, for example, focus largely on crimes associated with drug dealing, while Mission plainclothes officers often focus on crimes associated with sex trafficking in the Shotwell corridor.
Between the dates of January 1, 2024, to February 29, 2024, the SFPD plainclothes teams developed probable cause to make 135 felony arrests, seized 11 firearms, recovered 8 vehicles, and seized 10.4 lbs. of narcotics. The SFPD will continue to conduct these operations and make arrests to hold people committing these crimes accountable.
Four examples of cases where plainclothes officers made arrests are:
On Jan. 11, plainclothes officers from five district stations were working on a robbery abatement operation when they witnessed four suspects casing pedestrians. The officers witnessed the suspects attempting to rob a woman of her purse and arrested the four suspects, who were juveniles, after a foot pursuit. Officers recovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun. The suspects are believed to be responsible for a series of robberies in the area.
On Jan 15, plainclothes officers from six district stations were working on an auto burglary and robbery abatement operation when they received a call about a suspect vehicle involved in an auto burglary. The officers located the vehicle in Oakland and followed them back to San Francisco, where officers arrested the driver and seized stolen property from the burglary as well as a loaded semi-automatic handgun.
On Feb. 15, plainclothes officers tracked two vehicles wanted in several auto burglaries in San Francisco. After attempting to stop one suspect vehicle, the driver jumped out and attempted to flee on foot. Officers stopped the suspect and took him into custody. The suspect was in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun. Officers recovered both suspect vehicles.
On Feb. 29, plainclothes officers out of Tenderloin Station recognized a wanted murder suspect. The officers followed the suspect and made a high-risk vehicle stop to take him into custody. The suspect was in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.