California car burglaries are at crisis levels

Proposition 47 is the real bugaboo, it moved from felony to misdemeanor thefts under $950 which includes damage caused by them. this made breaking into cars pretty much a free pass because window damage rarely could exceed that. becoming a misdemeanor meant cops have no real reason to follow up. throw in the requirement to prove the doors are locked, well its easy to understand<p>however the real dishonesty is from Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) who claims a bill to at least remove the requirement for prosecutors prove a car was locked before being broken into based on costs. As in, they are very willing to pass the costs onto individuals; hence there still is a cost but to government it does not occur unless on their books. As it was pointed out, how is it never a crime to enter a vehicle you do not own without permission?<p>Prop 47 lead to an increase in shop lifting because it set the limit high enough that it basically insured no one would get prosecuted. the common method is to send a bunch of people into a store at one time to get the goods in volume but with each individual being under the limit in monetary value if being young enough prosecution won&#x27;t work either

Fun anecdote. I was living&#x2F;working in San Francisco a couple of years ago. It was 10am on a work day. I was walking towards my office, along Folsom coming from the 101 towards 8th. Out of nowhere a guy just walks up to one of the cars parked on the street, smashes the rear window, and starts taking whatever was inside. There was several homeless people nearby just casually observing it, along with myself. The perpetrator clearly gave zero fucks and undertook the whole thing as casually as one might stop to tie their shoe on the street. It was a little surreal, and I was already desensitized to the ... interesting characteristics of SoMa streets by that point.

For all those out there that applauded Prop 47 that helped lead to this mess let me tell you a story of how this law leads to more inequality not less.<p>A single mother working 2 minimum wage jobs in different parts of the city uses her car to travel to work. She basically lives in her car so she must keep belongings she will need in there. While working her first shift for the day her car is broken into. Her bag with her uniform for her second shift is stolen along with everything else.<p>The cops tell her that the damage to her 20 year old used car&#x27;s window and the items stolen add up to less than $950 so they can&#x27;t do much of anything for her.<p>Meanwhile, across town, a rich tech elite&#x27;s high end electric car is broken into and some valuable electronics are stolen. The damage and theft adds up to well over $950 so the police are able to investigate.<p>At the end of the day the tech elite orders replacement electronics with next day prime delivery and has their assistant work on repairing the window. The single mother gets fired from her second job for not having the appropriate attire. Great work California.

So a car is not considered personal property if it’s parked on the street? I thought me taking someone else’s property is illegal, isn’t it? Say I swiped your wallet, it’s obviously not locked in your pocket and you are on the street next to your car. Will I be prosecuted or not?

This strikes me as such an odd law. Does CA feel the same about houses? Can one go break into a house and get away with it if the homeowner can&#x27;t prove the doors were locked? I suspect not and, so, if not, why not? What was the impetus for such a law to begin with? Was there a rash of people leaving their cars unlocked and some politician decided it &quot;serves them right&quot; for getting broken into? The questions abound!

Easy solution, break into the cars of the lawmakers.

<i>prosecutors prove a car’s doors were locked at the time of a break-in</i><p>Weird law. Here in Wales if you leave it unlocked you might have a problem with your insurance but it’s still equally a crime.

As someone who has lived in a major city for the last 30 years there is just ONE rule.<p>Leave nothing in your car and leave the doors unlocked.<p>Leaving the door unlocked is the rule I adopted after a break in 30 years ago when only one of my doors was locked, and of course that window was broken!

Wait, was this the reason the cybertruck had a glass breaking demo?

There’s a YouTube channel Gas Station Encounters that videos shop lifters in their store in order to publicly shame them. They began publishing their videos out of frustration.<p>Besides being pretty funny, it gives you some perspective on the people who shoplift with no shame.<p>Link: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;channel&#x2F;UCWAhPpdcWedLgaB1KJEvfqA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;channel&#x2F;UCWAhPpdcWedLgaB1KJEvfqA</a>

San Francisco is basically Gotham city without Batman and City hall is Arkham Asylum. The newly elected DA is bound to make it worse as he focuses on decriminalizing all non-violent crimes. In the words of my Uncle &quot;You made your bed, now you must sleep in it..&quot;

Conspiracy theory:<p>Allowing rampant car theft is yet another way rich San Franciscans - who can afford both indoor parking and new windows a few times a year - keep the non millionaire rabble away from the city.

Numbers. How many suspects are actually set free because of this law? I suspect very few, and this is just a way to vilify those who want to look out for the working class and those in poverty. If lawmakers really want to solve car thefts, they need to look at the systemic economic problems that cause the need for such theft to occur, not look for more ways to put poor people in jail.

San Francisco is becoming a third world shithole, but with first world rent prices. Why would anyone choose to live there? Do people <i>enjoy</i> stepping in human feces and getting their cars stolen?

I know a lot of you guys all live in CA, and the bay area particularly. Just so you know: this stuff sounds like <i>madness</i> to an outsider reading the stories in this thread.<p>If things are actually the way some of you are describing them, it sounds like SF particularly is about to collapse completely. Yikes. I can&#x27;t imagine living there, much less having kids there.

This is why vehicles like the cybertruck are increasingly needed. If the government has failed to protect us and our property, then we need to have more hardened property and take matters into our own hands.

&gt;“With approximately 70 auto burglaries a day”<p>That doesn’t seem like a crisis in a city the size of San Francisco.

I&#x27;ve always left nothing in the car and the doors unlocked in the hope that my windows won&#x27;t be broken.<p>Not SF but I once had the cup holder&#x2F;ashtray stolen from an old mini van I was driving, I assume because it had a few dollars in change in the ash tray.<p>More amusing than anything.<p>Cars are terrible for cities, doesn&#x27;t bother me in the least that protecting tourist&#x27;s cameras isn&#x27;t an enforcement priority.<p>&gt; Tourists are disproportionately targeted because they are more likely to have valuables in their cars