New San Francisco poll finds dramatic reversal on policing views

A new poll found a large majority of San Francisco’s voters support police access to drones and surveillance technology, showing widespread support for the technology two years after city law changed to give police greater access to these tools. 

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The poll, released by the billionaire-backed advocacy group GrowSF, found 72% of voters supported police using drones and live cameras to aid in active investigations, with only 25% of voters saying they opposed the use. The specific survey question noted that proponents say the technology helps catch suspects while committing the crime. 

The San Francisco Police Department was formerly restricted in using drones or from installing surveillance cameras in the city because of a 2019 law that created some of the most restrictive government surveillance regulations in the country. But that changed after in 2024 when voters approved Proposition E in a narrow 54% to 46% vote. The SF Democratic Party and American Civil Liberties Union opposed the measure, saying it would dramatically increase police surveillance and threaten civil rights.

Since Proposition E passed, SFPD bought drones with support from local billionaire Chris Larsen, and touted them as a “game changer” for pursuing suspects. The department routinely releases footage on social media that shows police using the drones to make arrests in alleged auto burglary cases.

GrowSF was founded in 2020 by tech workers Steven Bacio and Sachin Agarwal. The political pressure group has received past funding from billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz, Ripple co-founder Larsen and Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan. The group touts helping defeat former Supervisor Dean Preston in 2024 and the successful recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. 

GrowSF’s latest poll, conducted by FM3 Research with 662 likely voters in the city between July 8 and 19 with a 4.9 percentage point margin of error, found that voters’ comfort level with the technology has significantly increased since Proposition E was passed two years ago. The survey found 68% of people support using drones to monitor high drug use areas and 64% said they support cameras being used “at all times” to monitor “open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin and the Mission.”

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Bacio said in a news release that the group’s polling shows a “clear” message that “residents want city leaders to continue modernizing the police department and deploying every effective tool available to keep them and their families safe.”

The poll showed that voters are split on the city’s direction under Mayor Daniel Lurie. Over 40% of respondents said the past year has seen visible street trash, homelessness and public drug use improving. But a narrow majority of people said homelessness and public drug use have stayed the same or gotten worse. 

The poll also asked about other issues, finding that 81% of respondents said housing and rent are extremely important or very serious problems, and 80% of respondents said the same about cost of living. Only 10% of voters said too much development in the city was a problem.