San Francisco has become a laboratory for police surveillance after early resistance; SFPD recorded 700 drone flights last month, up from 93 in February 2025

SF’s crime collapsed. So did its resistance to surveillance

San Francisco has 98 police drones, 400 AI license plate readers, and a billionaire-funded real-time crime center. Crime is down 44%. Nobody seems to mind — yet. But experts say the city is running an...