The Police IndexStop data: 2024 · Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026
What the job looks like at San Mateo Police
13,670 people stopped in 2024Busiest hour 12pm to 1pmSan Mateo County
San Mateo Police is the police department for the city of San Mateo, in San Mateo County. This page shows what its officers spend their time on, from the stops the department reported to the state for 2024.
People stopped
About 37 a day
13,670 people in 2024. A stop is a detention or search, so calls with no detention are not counted. Most common reason: red light, stop sign or traffic sign, 20%.
The main reason recorded for each of 13,670 people stopped in 2024, grouped from the offense code.
When the work happens
21% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am.
San Mateo Police
San Mateo County average
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm
Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.
How the work is done
Each dot is a department in San Mateo County. San Mateo Police is highlighted.
On foot13% 9th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
For a traffic violation85% 7th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%60%80%100%
After a call for service10% 9th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
Person perceived as unhoused1% 11th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
How stops end
Verbal warning29% 12th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%60%80%
Citation30% 7th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%60%
Arrest10% 5th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
Psychiatric hold1% 8th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
One person can have more than one outcome, so these do not add to 100%.
Searches and handcuffs
Person searched10% 6th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
Handcuffed10% 6th of 16 in San Mateo County
0%20%40%
This page covers the work only. Pay, hiring steps and test rules for this department are not on the site yet. Agencies differ in how consistently they record handcuffing and searches, so small gaps may not be real.