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City officials and DA outline steps after grand jury flags surge in auto burglaries
Summary
The civil grand jury reported nearly 25,000 reported auto‑burglary incidents in 2015 and urged focused resources; SFPD and the district attorney described task‑force arrests, crime analysts and a private‑camera registry as part of a city response; the committee marked several recommendations as implemented or in process.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee heard the civil grand jury’s report on auto burglaries in San Francisco and discussed coordinated policing, prosecution and analytic steps the city is taking to curb a multi‑year rise in vehicle break‑ins.
Civil‑grand‑jury presenter Michael Skahill, PhD, said the jury analyzed roughly 31 months of data and reported 24,826 incidents in 2015 using DataSF and other sources. He described a pattern in which prolific career criminals and organized teams commit many offenses, leaving a high caseload for investigators; the jury recommended focused police resources, improved information gathering and regional partnerships.
Acting Chief Tony Chaplin and Commander Greg McEachern told the committee the department created a Patrol Bureau Task Force, which their presentation said had grown to 18 members and made more than 100 arrests this year tied to serial offenders. McEachern said the department was roughly 18% down year‑to‑date in reported auto burglaries and attributed some gains to task‑force work, increased crime analysts and collaboration with the district attorney’s office.
District Attorney’s Office representatives said they have formed a crime strategies unit to pursue serial offenders and have developed a "security camera interactive map" to collect voluntary private‑camera footage to assist investigations. The DA’s office said it is sharing data with SFPD analysts and has added general‑fund positions for crime analysis.
On sentencing and Proposition 47: a public commenter asked whether Prop 47 reduced penalties and contributed to repeat offending. The committee cited a district attorney letter read into the record stating the auto‑burglary increase preceded Proposition 47 and that Prop 47 did not change punishments associated with auto burglary. Skahill and committee members emphasized that regional coordination and federal prosecution options (for interstate theft tied to tourists) merit further exploration.
Committee action and implementation: The committee agreed several recommendations are implemented or partially implemented — for example, RA1 (ensuring the Patrol Bureau Task Force has adequate resources) was recorded as implemented — while others (such as creating a serial crimes unit that may require additional budget) were marked for further study and budget planning in 2018–19. The committee forwarded its amended committee report to the full Board for the scheduled September hearing.
What to watch: progress on adding crime analysts, the effectiveness of the private‑camera registry, and whether regional or federal partners accept expanded coordination for interstate cases involving tourist victims.
Representative quotes: "In 2015 ... we determined that there were 24,826 reported incidents of auto burglary within the city," Skahill said. Commander McEachern said the Patrol Bureau Task Force "made more than 100 arrests just for auto burglaries" this year.
