Increased police presence in an Union Square & Moscone zone 365 days/year under the newly-created Hospitality Task Force by Mayor Lurie

SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the launch of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force within a month after he was sworn into office. The newly-created police unit is staffed with specialized officers who are assigned to patrol the Union Square-Yerba Buena Gardens-Moscone Convention Center zone and provide full police service to people in the area including tourists, visitors, workers and businesses.

The Hospitality Task Force zone comprises three most tourist designated areas in San Francisco downtown, Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Moscone Convention Center, where the world-class stores and large-scale hotels are located.

In recent years, a large number of stores moved out of Union Square and nearby areas that has made the Union Square almost as an empty shopping zone due to high crime, homelessness, and open street drug market.

During the campaign days, Lurie promised to create a special police unit exclusively covering the Union Square and downtown areas in order to bring back tourists and businesses.

Lurie announced the creation of the SFPD Hospitality Task Force in a press conference on February 6, less than a month since he took office on January 8, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Lurie said the launch of the Hospitality Task Force was a major new effort to strength public safety and drive economic comeback.

Delivering on a key campaign promise to improve public safety and revitalize critical commercial districts to drive the city’s comeback, the task force would more effectively coordinate police resources and provide a more welcoming environment for residents, visitors, and merchants around the Moscone Convention Center, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Union Square, key drivers of San Francisco's economy, Lurie said.

In fact, the task force has been in operation since Lurie took office on January 8 to plan for increased police presence during the 4-day 43rd annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square on January 13 to 16.

The annual conference is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry which connects global industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators and members of the investment community.

8,000 attendees of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference had resulted in full rooms around the city beyond the Union Square and South of Market areas. It was estimated the conference generated over $92 million in economic impact on San Francisco.

“Helping people feel safe walking downtown is the key to unleashing our city’s comeback. And today, we are creating the conditions for a thriving commercial center by launching the SFPD Hospitality Task Force,” said Lurie in the announcement.

“The Hospitality Task Force will break down silos to increase the police presence across the areas that drive our city’s economy – not just during large conferences but 365 days a year. With a safe, bustling downtown, we will attract businesses, shoppers, tourists, and conventions – creating jobs, generating revenue, and helping us provide better services for everyone in San Francisco,” Lurie added.

According to Lurie, his office and the city’s public safety departments executed an effective plan that led to a successful 2025 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference and the conference’s return to San Francisco in 2026.

Lurie applauded the Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 overwhelmingly in favor of his Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance, which would give the city the tools it needed to tackle the drug crisis with the urgency it demanded. District 10 Supervisor Shaman Walton was the lone supervisor to vote against the ordinance.

The Hospitality Task Force zone covers the area surrounding Bush Street to the north, Kearny, Market, 2nd to the east, Folsom to the south, 5th, Mason and Taylor Streets to the west.

The task force zone is used to be covered by three police districts, Central, Tenderloin and Southern Stations.

Under Lurie's administration, the Hospitality Task Force has become a brand new unit within SFPD with specialized police officers assigned to the most impacted areas, allowing SFPD to surge units for a higher level of security and quicker response times.

The task force would deploy multiple teams of officers over to the zone as many as 20 hours per day in high-traffic areas, making safety a round-the-clock priority.

In addition, the Hospitality Task Force would supplement existing SFPD deployments, leveraging resources that were previously divided across three police districts. It would also coordinate with multi-agency entities like the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, which is currently active in the Tenderloin and 6th Street areas.

The Chinese community is pleased with the creation of the Hospitality Task Force. In recent years, merchants in Chinatown have struggled to survive economically due to the crime and homeless situation occurring in Chinatown and Union Square. As many merchants said, empty stores in Union Square have brought fewer and fewer tourists and customers to Chinatown.

Robert Chiang, board member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and past Presiding President of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) supported the creation of the Hospitality Task Force in SFPD. "We like to see more police presence as a long-term strategy to improve public safety in the city. The task force will benefit Chinatown as well," said Chiang.

Annie Chow, who lives in the Portola neighborhood and takes Muni everyday to work in Chinatown, has seen the crime situation getting better since Lurie took office. "When I ride on the bus across downtown to come to work in Chinatown, I could see the streets are cleaner now. It is a good sign for San Francisco," said Chow.