San Francisco police drone flights increase with vague data raising privacy concerns

San Francisco police have deployed over 10,000 surveillance drones since acquiring the technology in 2024, with flights rising sharply from 325 in the first year to 6,717 through September 2026, according to sfpublicpress.org.

The Police Department maintains a public dataset logging drone flights by time, date, location, and reason, mostly citing criminal investigations such as 'person with gun' or 'burglary.' However, many recent flights have vague or missing descriptions, including categories labeled as miscellaneous or left blank.

Brian Cox, integrity officer for the Public Defender’s Office, highlighted discrepancies between the logged uses of drones and the authority granted by the Board of Supervisors, noting that some flight records do not align with approved purposes.

The Police Commission passed a more permissive drone use policy on October 14, 2026, but the Board of Supervisors has yet to announce a final review date. This comes amid broader city debates over digital surveillance and recent legislation easing oversight to reduce bureaucracy, which has concerned privacy advocates.

Data shows that in 2025, 322 drone flights were logged under 'criminal investigation' without specifying call types, increasing to 447 in the first nine months of 2026. Flights categorized as 'surveillance' or 'miscellaneous' have also grown.

The rising use of drones and incomplete public records have sparked calls for greater transparency and oversight of police drone operations in San Francisco.