He saw a dark BMW drive down Steiner Street, north of the famous Painted Lady Victorian block. Passengers jumped out and began running down the sidewalk, holding up their gloved hands and peering out the car window. After glancing at three cars, the thief found his target. A backpack tossed attractively into the seat. In one move, he broke the window and grabbed it.
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As the BMW sped away, Poulsen leaned over to take a picture with his cell phone, but his shock turned to disgust. The theft seemed brazen, taking place on a warm winter afternoon last year on a hill full of tourists taking selfies.
“He was so quick to get in and out of the car with his backpack on,” Poulsen recalled. “It only took 15 seconds.”
Alamo Square, like other tourist areas in San Francisco, is a hotspot for car break-ins, with a spike around Thanksgiving week, according to a Chronicle analysis of San Francisco police records from 2021 and 2022. He has reported more than three cases per day, which is comparable to nearby Hayes Valley.
Citywide, car thefts increased toward the end of the year, peaking at 90 a day at the end of October. But this seasonal trend appears to be especially pronounced in areas of the city where tourists park their rented SUVs to (perhaps only momentarily) point their cameras at the city skyline. In late November, thieves flock to the Alamo Square and Hayes Valley shopping districts. They’re also drawn to Twin Peaks, where smash-and-grab intensification during the Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks, according to the data.
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“There’s a seasonal aspect to a lot of crime,” said Ernesto López, a research expert at the Council on Criminal Justice think tank in Washington, D.C. With more out-of-town relatives, there are more opportunities for perpetrators. Lopez said the value of fenced items also increases at certain times, which could be an incentive for robberies.
Lopez said all of these theories are plausible, but cautioned that auto thefts happen quickly and are generally not very strategic. Perhaps the perpetrators are looking for “one or two indicators” that the car is likely loaded, but they haven’t checked the checklist, he said. Ta.
Police offered few answers at a September Board of Supervisors hearing on the car break-in epidemic, where Alamo Square residents lined up to air their grievances. Some said they were left to comfort victims and sweep glass from sidewalks.
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“I’m really worried,” Taylor Lapeil told the Chronicle. His living room window overlooks the Alamo, his square, and his front row seat overlooks the picturesque hillside and the remains of many robberies. Lapeyre often sees families in tears after all their belongings are stolen. He once provided bandages to people who fell and suffered scrapes while trying to chase a speeding car.
For years, authorities have tried to prevent car break-ins by discouraging residents and visitors from leaving items in their cars. Jason Jarvis, media and communications chair for the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, said police and San Francisco Department of Transportation officials distributed “public awareness” pamphlets with the slogan “Park Smart,” but the message was He said it made people feel like they were being gaslighted.
Jarvis said holding people personally responsible for preventing robberies amounts to “acquiescence,” as if city leaders decided the problem was too difficult to solve and abandoned enforcement efforts. Stated.
In Lapeyre’s observation, anti-theft campaigns have not been very effective. He said tourists don’t notice because authorities have posted signs in faded letters that say “25 feet high on poles.” Desperate neighbors tried to create their own versions by printing out theft advisories and laminating them in Saran wrap.
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But recently, city officials have become more proactive. Mayor London Breed met with the neighborhood association in October and “took the time to listen to our members’ concerns about car break-ins and crime,” Jarvis said. She asked the association that city engineers consider road design changes that could restrict vehicular traffic and prevent thieves from driving into or quickly leaving the neighborhood. He said he was doing it.
Lt. Jason Sawyer of the San Francisco Police Department’s North Precinct also attended the association’s meeting and said Jarvis noticed more police presence around Alamo Square Park during “high-priority times,” including holidays. . Jarvis believes these measures are having an effect, noting that police have also arrested a robbery suspect.
But for Poulsen, the coordinated response came too late. By the end of last year, he had become disillusioned with the sight of screeching cars and broken windows. In January, he moved to Redwood City, saying he wanted to live somewhere safer.
Six months later, he drove to San Francisco and had dinner at a restaurant near Fisherman’s Wharf. There was a sign in the window warning customers not to leave valuables in the car, which immediately made Paulsen nervous.
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When Poulsen later emerged, he was thankful his car was unharmed. But the two cars parked in front of it had their windows smashed and their belongings strewn across the sidewalk, and the wreckage told a familiar San Francisco story.
With a shudder, he remembered that both cars had out-of-state plates.
Contact Rachel Swan: rswan@sfchronicle.com. Contact Susie Neilson: susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com