Is San Francisco this bad?

I've seen more smashed windshields in 5 years living in San Francisco than in 18 years living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Last month, I went to the Fisherman's Wharf area to pick up some lunch, and my wife was waiting in the car near the restaurant. She witnessed a car break-in just across the street from her. In broad day light. We reported it to police, including car plate for the perpetrators (my wife somehow had the presence of mind to take a photo of the thieves' car), but during the call, the police officer was like "we can't keep holding the phone line, maybe call us later".

Nope: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;s.hdnux.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;01&#x2F;17&#x2F;32&#x2F;42&#x2F;20818085&#x2F;3&#x2F;ratio3x2_1150.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;s.hdnux.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;01&#x2F;17&#x2F;32&#x2F;42&#x2F;20818085&#x2F;3&#x2F;ratio3x2_1...</a><p>Yes, car break-ins are up. But robberies are down, rapes are down, as is other violent crime. This is a made-up moral panic.<p>And, no, it&#x27;s not people suddenly deciding not to report crime. Rape and murder tend to be noticed. Victims of assault will, with some constant factor, seek medical help. Robberies are reported because that&#x27;s corporate policy. If anything, it&#x27;s the relatively minor smashed car window one might not report.

When I lived in Atlanta, leaving your car unlocked and removing everything that could have any conceivable value was standard procedure for unsecured parking. Even that sometimes didn&#x27;t work and your windows would still get smashed. Some people would leave their windows down to make it very clear that smashing them wasn&#x27;t necessary for entry into the vehicle but given the pollen, insects, and odds of rain, I always thought that wasn&#x27;t a very good tradeoff.

Thank god the tourists have returned. Window smashing locals really wasn’t a thing during covid, but the innovations of garage door jacking no longer fill my KarenDoor feed.

I mean, “don’t leave stuff in your car” is a pretty basic tenant of parking on the street in any big city… but yeah, it’s kinda as described and has been for at least a decade or more.

You couldn&#x27;t pay me to go to into SF proper or Oakland.