Banning S.F. Police from Making Traffic Stops Will Increase Crime

Regarding “SF Police Commission bans pretextual traffic stops to reduce racial bias” (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, Jan. 11): Does anyone really believe there’s too much traffic enforcement in San Francisco? Total stops by the San Francisco Police Department dropped 73% from 2019 to 2021. Is it any wonder that per capita crime rates and traffic accidents have dramatically increased?

San Francisco Police Commission’s vote Wednesday to bar police from enforcing many traffic laws will reduce traffic stops even more. This wrong-headed policy will result in more traffic accidents and more crime, since stops can lead to arrests for illegal guns, drug supplies and violent felonies. 

While it’s important to end bias in policing, banning all traffic stops of certain types is misguided. These include failure to signal when turning or changing lanes (notwithstanding the millions of accidents annually nationwide resulting from turn signal neglect); driving with broken taillights or brake lights in the fog and missing license plates, despite the prevalence of missing plates on stolen cars.

Forcing police to ignore certain laws only contributes to more crime.

Frank Noto, president, Stop Crime SF, San Francisco

(This letter to the editor appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on January 23, 2023 and is lightly edited)