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San Francisco 311 adds a public drug activity category, but police response still requires a call
Residents can now submit reports of public drug activity through a dedicated 311 app category, and the information will be shared with police. Anyone seeking an officer to respond must still contact the San Francisco Police Department directly.
San Francisco residents can now use a dedicated “public drug activity” category in the city’s 311 app to report suspected drug use. The reports will be shared with the San Francisco Police Department and can help officials track where activity is reported and consider where to increase enforcement, the city administrator’s office said.
The change ends a process in which app reports were closed without further action, with residents instead directed to call police. People previously had to call the police non-emergency line or contact 311 and be transferred to the department to make a report.
The new category does not dispatch officers. Anyone who wants police to respond, including for a wellness check, must still call the SFPD. District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood had pressed the city to improve the process, saying constituents commonly complained that 311 drug-use reports were automatically canceled.