San Francisco’s Good Neighbor Policy, explained for service sites.

What it asks of a site every day.

The backbone is a walk of the frontage three times a day at every city-contracted site, and a funding department can require those passes to be logged once a site meets threshold criteria, such as heavy walk-in traffic or a place on the corrective ladder.

Each pass picks up litter and program trash and keeps entrances, exits, curb ramps and nearby sidewalks open. Graffiti on provider-controlled property comes off in 72 hours, weather and access permitting.

Walk-up sites also keep a written queue plan: intake moves indoors where possible, and any outside line leaves the walkway clear.

Then there is “active discouragement” of blocked sidewalks, excessive noise, intimidation and drug use in public view. It is measured by what staff do, such as a verbal redirect or a referral to services, never by a promised result. Nobody is expected to put hands on anyone, and when engaging isn’t safe, staff step back and escalate.

The rollout timeline.

The City announced the policy in August 2026 and began testing the GN app. Its published timeline puts a wider app rollout and formal sessions for providers in September and October 2026, implementation in November and December 2026, then an enforcement window whose exact dates the City will announce. This section reflects that timeline as of October 2026; the City posts updates on its Good Neighbor Policy page, and your HSH or DPH program manager handles site questions.

How San Francisco Private Security helps.

The policy belongs to your staff, and the primary operator stays accountable for it. What we add is steady coverage and a clean paper trail that supports the routines above. Here is how each duty lines up with our services.

• Perimeter passes: our security officers can walk the frontage on a set schedule every shift, and each round lands in a timed log, so your team sees when the block was checked and what still needs a GN app entry.
• Entrances during intake: a posted officer at the door through intake hours helps keep the doorway, ramp and sidewalk passable while your staff run the line under your own queue plan.
• Overnight at 24-hour sites: mobile patrol sends marked cars by at unpredictable times, and every stop checks doors, gates and the frontage with the time recorded. Sites that want a person there all night can have a 24-hour post.
• The record: daily shift reports and incident reports with photos arrive by email, giving your staff the times and pictures to enter in the GN app and a ready answer when a neighbor calls.
• Cameras you already own: remote video monitoring puts live eyes on the entrance and sidewalk overnight, with your plan deciding who gets the call.

Officers follow post orders we write with you, and month-to-month terms make it easy to add hours as the enforcement window approaches.