What Happened in San Francisco on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026
Yesterday in San Francisco, police responded to 185 incidents, up 3% from 179 the day before. 16 violent crimes were reported, and officers made 64 arrests.
The most common incident type was Administrative, accounting for 67 of 185 reports (36% of total). The most active neighborhood was Tenderloin with 35 incidents.
Overall activity was 15% above the 30-day average of 160 incidents per day.
Incident Categories
Yesterday, San Francisco reported incidents across 8 categories. Administrative led with 67 incidents (36% of total), followed by Theft & Larceny with 48 and Drugs & Alcohol with 20.
Robbery — up 63% over the past 7 days (26 incidents this week vs 16 the prior week).
Incident Category Breakdown
What's in “Administrative”?
Overview
Violent Crime
16 violent crimes were reported in San Francisco yesterday, accounting for 9% of all incidents. This is up 23% from the prior day.
| Time | Offense | Neighborhood | Block |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:01 | Simple AssaultViolent | South of Market | — |
| 03:03 | Simple AssaultViolent | Tenderloin | — |
| 05:53 | Aggravated AssaultViolent | Mission | — |
| 06:29 | Simple AssaultViolent | Tenderloin | — |
| 08:00 | Simple AssaultViolent | South of Market | — |
| View All | |||
Arrests
San Francisco police made 64 arrests yesterday. 9 arrests were related to violent incidents.
Arrests accounted for 35% of all incidents. Of the 64 arrests, 19 were Administrative, 15 were Drugs & Alcohol, and 7 were Assault & Violence. This is up 56% from the 41 arrests the prior day.
| Time | Offense | Category | Neighborhood |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:21 | Drug Violation | Drugs & Alcohol | Tenderloin |
| 00:57 | Other | Administrative | Castro/Upper Market |
| 01:00 | Burglary - Other | Burglary | Western Addition |
| 01:13 | Drug Violation | Drugs & Alcohol | Tenderloin |
| 03:03 | Simple Assault | Assault & ViolenceViolent | Tenderloin |
| View All | |||
Neighborhood Activity
Yesterday, incidents were reported across 33 neighborhoods in San Francisco. Tenderloin had the highest activity with 35 incidents, followed by Mission with 23 and South of Market with 21.
1 specific location has appeared in the top 10 most active blocks for 4 or more of the last 7 days, including Unknown (7 of 7 days).
Explore all neighborhoods and their trends in San Francisco Neighborhood Safety. →
Hourly Breakdown
Activity in San Francisco yesterday peaked between 12 PM – 1 PM with 16 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 2am with no incidents reported.
Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 30 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 49, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 62, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 44. Afternoon was the busiest period overall.
Wednesdays in San Francisco typically average 177 incidents. Yesterday's total of 185 is 8 incidents above that 8-week average (5% higher).
How Does This Compare?
The 7-day rolling average is 167.7 incidents per day, above the 30-day average of 160.4 — suggesting a busier-than-normal stretch.
Key Patterns
Tenderloin: Most Active for 3 Straight Days
Tenderloin has been the most active neighborhood for 3 consecutive days. Today it logged 35 incidents (19% of the city total).
Robbery Up 63% This Week
Robbery incidents have risen sharply: 26 in the past 7 days compared to 16 the prior 7 days — a 63% increase.
Full Incident Log
This log contains all 185 incidents reported to the sfgov.org on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026. Published Thursday, January 22nd, 2026.
Get the daily briefing
Free, every morning.