San Francisco DA launches task force against scourge of car break-ins

Hector Hernandez of Auto Glass Now San Francisco, vacuums up the broken glass as he prepares to replace the rear window of a vehicle that was smashed to pieces during a burglary, as seen on Thursday Jan. 25, 2018, San Francisco, Calif. less Hector Hernandez of Auto Glass Now San Francisco, vacuums up the broken glass as he prepares to replace the rear window of a vehicle that was smashed to pieces during a burglary, as seen on Thursday Jan. 25, ... more Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle / / Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle / / Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close San Francisco DA launches task force against scourge of car break-ins 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón on Wednesday announced new efforts to combat the city’s spiraling vehicle break-in crisis, including a proposed task force dedicated to finding and prosecuting offenders.

The unit would be made up of prosecutors, analysts and investigators who seek to bust up rings of prolific auto burglars. Gascón’s office has asked the mayor and Board of Supervisors for $1 million to fund the task force.

Gascón also introduced a new hotline and website where people can deliver crime tips. Officials hope the system, coupled with an expanding database where residents and merchants can register the locations of private security cameras, will yield valuable evidence to prosecute criminals.

“Our crime strategies unit has been working” to prepare for the effort, Gascón said at a news conference, “going over thousands of records, cameras, license plate readers, police reports, seemingly unconnected pieces of information, in order to understand the scope of the work and what needs to be done to be successful.”

Most of the city’s nearly 30,000 reported auto break-ins last year, he said, were committed by “organized groups of people” often using stolen vehicles or rental cars to make a quick getaway. The boosted property can change hands repeatedly as it moves through complex fencing operations.

Earlier this month, officials in Santa Clara County announced a bust in a multimillion-dollar operation in which valuable electronics were stolen in the Bay Area, including in San Francisco, before being shipped overseas.

“What we’re hoping to do is bring in as much information as we can,” Gascón said. “That information will be shared on a daily basis — sometimes in real time — with the police, depending on the nature of the investigation.”

He said prosecutors will work more closely with police and with witnesses to identify criminals and ensure the district attorney’s office has enough evidence to successfully prosecute cases.

San Francisco’s residents, workers and tourists suffered through the worst year on record for car break-ins in 2017, with reports from victims up more than 25 percent from the previous year.

Police Chief Bill Scott has announced steps including dedicating officers at district stations to focus on property crime and increasing foot patrols in problem areas.

For two years, the Police Department had a citywide task force dedicated to investigating auto burglaries, but the chief announced in August that he was disbanding it. He said trying to stop criminals before they act is a more effective strategy than pursuing them later.

Gascón’s proposed task force would be patterned after a team deployed in the 2016 takedown of a theft ring known as the “Rainbow Crew.”

For several years, thieves packed into high-end stores in San Francisco’s Union Square, overwhelming store employees — sometimes violently — while making off with merchandise from stores like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.

The crime strategies unit eventually connected suspects to 23 thefts in San Francisco and at least 10 in other jurisdictions around the West Coast and in Hawaii, and grand juries handed down more than 20 indictments.

Gascón said he hopes to use the same analytical, data-driven approach to target networks of criminals ransacking vehicles. By the end of 2018, he said, authorities should be able to reduce auto break-ins by 20 percent. In three years, his goal is to help transform the epidemic into “a manageable problem.”

The new tip line can be accessed at www.sfdistrictattorney.org/auto-burglary-tipline or by calling (415) 553-7337.