Fourteen homicides in four months. Guns used in nine of them. And San Francisco's official response? A "ceasefire" plea.

Let that marinate for a second. The city is literally asking murderers to stop murdering. As one SF resident put it: "Genius. Next calls for no more crimes pls."

Now, let's be honest about the numbers before anyone hyperventilates. The 250% spike sounds apocalyptic, but it's measured against 2025's total of 28 homicides — the city's lowest in over 70 years. If the current pace holds through December, we'd land around 42, which is a meaningful increase but not exactly a return to the crack epidemic. Context matters, even when the headline writers don't want it to.

That said, a 50% year-over-year jump in people being killed is still people being killed, and it deserves a more serious response than the rhetorical equivalent of a "please don't litter" sign.

What's frustrating is the political gamesmanship happening on all sides. Some progressives are already pointing fingers at the current city leadership, arguing that the same crowd that was loud about crime during the Chesa Boudin recall has gone conspicuously quiet now that "their people" are in charge. Another local shot back: "Conservatives are in power? Are they in the room with us now?" — which, fair point. San Francisco's political establishment remains overwhelmingly left of center by any national measure. Calling it conservative governance is like calling a Prius a muscle car.

The real question nobody in City Hall seems eager to answer: What's actually driving these homicides? Are they connected? Gang-related? Are they coming from within the city or across the bay? Without that intelligence, a ceasefire plea is just performative governance — a press conference dressed up as policy.

Here's what we actually need: targeted enforcement, real investment in violence interruption programs that have measurable outcomes, and transparency about where these cases stand investigatively. San Franciscans across the political spectrum agreed that 28 homicides last year was a victory worth celebrating. The way you protect that progress isn't with platitudes — it's with actual policing strategy and prosecutorial follow-through.

Stop asking criminals to be nice. Start giving SFPD and the DA's office the tools — and the expectations — to do their jobs.