Sgt. Steven Spagnuolo works at Central Station in North Beach and spends a lot of his time chasing down car burglars. He has gotten to know how they operate.

"I’m looking for cars that we know have committed burglaries in the last couple weeks," he says. "If we see one, we know they might not be up to no good."

When he goes on patrol, he's watching for people driving slowly, looking into cars with flashlights, or cars backed into spots so they can pull out faster.

He says the thieves usually take their loot to two big open-air markets where illegal deals are made. One is in the Mid-Market neighborhood at Seventh and Market streets. The other is in the Tenderloin, at Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street.

If someone is caught breaking into a car, it’s a felony. If they steal something worth more than $950, that's a second felony. Each felony carries a maximum of three years in jail, but unless someone has been caught multiple times, chances are pretty low they'll get that sentence.

When the burglars are caught, Spagnuolo says it's not uncommon to see them right back on the street a short time later.

To crack down on these repeat offenders, the police use a strategy called "bundling," where they track crimes someone commits over time. A case based on multiple incidents is more likely to result in a conviction.

Despite Spagnuolo's efforts, the police barely make a dent in the numbers. An arrest is made in only 2 percent of the total break-ins reported.

Why The Rise?

There are a few theories about why this is such a problem in San Francisco right now.

1) Cars are packed close together, and it's easy to break into one car after another.

2) We have a lot of tourists who leave stuff in their cars out of necessity, or because they aren't aware of the break-in threat.

3) The things we leave in our cars have gotten more expensive over the years. Burglars once stole CD players -- now they steal laptops.

Taking Action

On Feb. 21, District Attorney George Gascon announced he's asking the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for $1 million to help curtail car break-ins. He also announced a website and telephone tip line to report car break-ins.

Gascon says he wants to re-start a program that would register private surveillance cameras that could then provide evidence to police.

Last summer, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott disbanded a citywide serial crimes unit dedicated to car break-ins. In its place, he unveiled a new plan to designate at least one officer focused on on break-ins at each of the 12 police stations in the city.

"I was happy because [serial crimes unit] wasn’t helping my neighborhoods that I serve," says San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen. She argues the old unit focused on touristy areas around town, and wasn't helping residential neighborhoods. "We need that focused attention at every district station."

Ronen represents the Mission district, which saw a 47 percent increase in car break-ins from 2016 to 2017.