Daniel Lurie and the SFPD held a press conference Monday to toot their horns over “a crackdown on dangerous stunt driving” of dirt bikes, but the four arrests seems like a drop in the bucket given the huge groups we typically see doing this.
The extremely frequent occurrence of dirt bike gangs joyriding on weekends in San Francisco is a particularly infuriating phenomenon for many of us in SF. And one reason this is particularly infuriating is that the joyriders seem to hit the exact same streets every weekend, and at the exact same times. I’m not in law enforcement, but it seems like when suspects commit the same crime in the same place like clockwork every week, wouldn’t these be particularly easy suspects to catch?
If you live in San Francisco, you’ve seen it or heard it: large groups on dirt bikes and ATVs taking over our streets and sidewalks.
— Daniel Lurie 丹尼爾·羅偉 (@DanielLurie) September 22, 2025
They ride without licenses, ignore the law, and terrorize our communities. For years, it felt like the city couldn’t—or wouldn’t—stop it.
Now we… pic.twitter.com/se2kYxNkzv
NBC Bay Area reports that Mayor Lurie finally announced he’s cracking down on these dirt bike gangs. And at a Monday press conference, Lurie touted the results of a Sunday law enforcement operation that he says resulted in four arrests, six seized dirt bikes, and a seized ATV.
“Anyone who engages in this illegal activity in San Francisco will be held accountable,” interim SFPD Chief Paul Yep said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard-working members of the SFPD and the assistance of new technology we can crack down on this behavior like never before.”
Dirtbike Gang in Soma. Aren’t these guys the coolest? pic.twitter.com/8pRIwIwaoj
— FriscoLive415 (@friscolive415) November 11, 2024
But, Chief, it ought to be pointed out that we often see dozens of dirt bikers in these groups, and four suspects arrested ans six bikes seized seems a pretty paltry haul given the size of these gangs. And again, they tend to hit the same roads weekend after weekend. Four fewer of them is unlikely to make a dent in next weekend’s inevitable dirt bike rallies, though maybe they'll choose some new routes to evade arrest.
Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text an anonymous tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Because if they can only arrest four people at a time, sounds like the SFPD could use all the help here they can get on this operation.
Image via SFPD
