SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Car break-ins are on the rise in San Francisco.
SFPD reports in the city’s Central District, which includes tourist destination Fisherman’s Wharf, the number of auto burglaries has jumped dramatically.
The problem has gotten so bad that some businesses are taking even more steps to help out their customers.
Specifically in Fisherman’s Wharf with the return of tourists, there’s been a return of car break-ins — Pieces of glass are scattered in parking spots all over this area and unsuspecting people are returning to their cars to find their valuables are gone.
It’s scenes like this that are becoming the norm in San Francisco’s Central District.
Burglars breaking into cars and making a getaway. The return of the troubling trend is bad for business.
“A large percentage of the people that are getting hit by the smash and grabbers are my customers. It’s absolutely devastating. I feel responsible,” Sean Sears, with Blazing Saddles SF, said.
Tourist spots like Blazing Saddles Bike Rentals in Fisherman’s Wharf are seeing these crimes happen every day.
SFPD reports citywide auto burglaries are still down this year but in the Central District it’s a different story.
Smash and grabs have jumped nearly 139% in 2021.
“Honestly I would’ve thought the number would be a lot higher than that,” Sears said.
Signs throughout the area warned people to not leave their valuables behind as they venture away from their cars.
Sean Sears has been handing out these drawn up signs for customers to put in their car windows.
Sears says there’s been some success with those but overall thefts continue to plague the area.
Like in this video showing a man who had to be fought off from stealing a pair of bikes from the rental company.
“It’s embarrassing. It’s really embarrassing for me as a San Francisco native,” Sears said.
The big concern in this district is how this crime might scare people away from visiting an area that was already hurt financially by the pandemic.
SFPD says they’ll continue working to prevent these crimes but they’re asking people to be vigilant.
