Is San Francisco this bad? | Hacker News Reader

Is San Francisco this bad?

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9 pointstotaldude879 comments

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: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/17/32/42/20818085/3/ratio3x2_1...

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.

And, no, it'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's corporate policy. If anything, it's the relatively minor smashed car window one might not report.

>Robberies are reported because that's corporate policy.

Most robberies are of non-corporate property. Unless the owner has a specific incentive (e.g. making an insurance claim after taking deductibles into account), there is no official report made, because there is no reason to.

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'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't necessary for entry into the vehicle but given the pollen, insects, and odds of rain, I always thought that wasn'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.

I lived in San Francisco from 1997 to 2017. I have friends that have lived there since the early 1980's. Car break ins have always been a problem. Couple of years ago a guy was found murdered in Bayview. Cops said the guy had been breaking into a couple of cars a day for years. They'd arrest him. He'd spend weeks or months in jail. Get out and go right back to it. Eventually broke into the wrong car.

Pro Life Tip: Get tinted windows.

Other than that general feeling. I think there is an uptick in nuance crimes due to the pandemic[1] and the housing crisis. But physically SF is safer than 20 years ago and hella safer than 40 years ago. Back in the 80's if a women didn't carry her purse like a Joe Montana carrying a football someone would try to grab it.

[1] Pandemic has caused criminals to target residential neighborhoods.

>Get tinted windows.

1) tinted front windows are illegal in CA, with very few exceptions

2) burglars break in on speculation, even if nothing is visible. That's why Teslas are constantly broken into via the right side rear passenger window -- immediate trunk access.

You couldn't pay me to go to into SF proper or Oakland.

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