Major California city sees staggering spike in murders as national homicide rate hits 125-year low
San Francisco has seen a major increase in homicides so far this year amid a historic national decline in murder rates.The City by the Bay was one of only eight major cities to see homicides increase during the first half of 2026, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.San Francisco’s murder rate increased 55% over the first six months of the year compared to 2025, trailing only Norfolk, Virginia, which saw a 64% increase.The startling figures came as US saw the sharpest year-over-year decline in murders on record last year, with homicides dropping 20% from 2024 and likely reaching their lowest levels since 1900.The homicide rate fell by an average of 18% during the first half of the year across across 21 of the 30 major cities surveyed by the Washington DC-based nonprofit. San Francisco police, however, have disputed the figures — stating that there have been 16 homicides so far this year compared to 12 during the same period last year, a spokesperson told CBS News.
The majority of the 16 killings involved firearms, according to police data.Police noted that the city ended last year with its lowest homicide rate in 70 years.“We recognize that homicides have increased slightly this year compared to last year.
Even one homicide is one too many, and the SFPD will continue to make these crimes our top priority,” a police spokesperson said.Police data has shown so far that all other categories of crime have gone down this year, from property crimes to vehicle thefts.Yet homicides have remained stubbornly higher in 2026, with most occurring during the first three months of the year.The uptick has largely been seen in the SFPD’s Southern District, which includes the Embarcadero, Mission Bay and Treasure Island, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.The area has recorded six homicides so far this year compared to none last year.Police Chief Derrick Lew said at a recent meeting that new homicides are harder to tackle because they “are more one-off in n...