San Francisco Lunar New Year events will be safe and well-secured, police chief says

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Safety and security are the prime focus ahead of a big Lunar New Year event in San Francisco's Ingleside District.

On Saturday, San Francisco's police chief joined community leaders to promote the event later this month. The neighborhood is hoping for a fun, safe event but some merchants have concerns about crime at their own businesses.

San Francisco's Ingleside District leaders sent good wishes for the year of the snake.

"The year of the snake symbolizes resilience, transformation and refreshment," said San Francisco Supervisor Cheyanne Chen.

Chen, who supervises District 11, joined community leaders and San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott to promote the upcoming Lunar New Year celebration on Ocean Avenue, happening on Feb. 22. They wanted the public to know the event will be safe.

San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade 2025: How to watch live on ABC7!

"During Covid, there was a lot of anti-Asian hate. People have fear related to public safety, so we keep doing this on Ocean Avenue celebration throughout Covid. This is a neighborhood for our youth and families. It's actually safe," said Sarah Wan, executive director of Community Youth Center.

"I think it's critically important right now, even after what we've seen in the world attacks, safety is on everyone's mind," Scott said.

The chief took to Ocean Avenue, meeting small business owners to support them and promote safety. Ingleside merchants have concerns about break-ins and crime at their businesses, and they wanted the chief to know all about it.

GoGo 7 restaurant owner Marilyn Lee told the chief she had three break-ins last year.

"It was terrible. It's terrible, and they took the cash register too," Lee said.

San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade: Everything you need to know before you go

She wants to see more police patrols.

"We've had some overnight burglaries, arrested some people. They have declined a little bit. It's still out there," Scott said.

"Break-ins are still happening in my district, but I appreciate that we are working closely with the police station," Chen said.

ABC7 is the official broadcast partner of next weekend's 2025 Chinese New Year Parade. Chief Scott says his department is ready to keep everyone safe at that event as well.

"You will see a lot of deployment a lot of officers. The parade will be very well-secured," Scott said.