On Thursday, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced he would introduce a law to make it easier to prosecute car break-in thieves by closing a legal loophole.
Wiener says his bill would be introduced in January which would remove a requirement where it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that a car door was locked to convict for auto burglary.
San Francisco’s high rate of car break-ins is unacceptable, & current law adds senseless barriers to holding auto burglars accountable. Yesterday, I announced new legislation to eliminate these ridiculous obstacles
Current law requires prosecutors to prove a vehicle was locked in order to convict an auto burglary suspect—even if there’s a video of the window being smashed. My legislation eliminates this needless requirement so forcible entry is sufficient to prove an auto burglary crime
This dumb “locked door” requirement is a huge obstacle. It forces victims to physically come to court just to testify their door was locked. Tourists aren’t going to come back to testify. SF residents may not even remember if they locked the doors.
SF has suffered an epidemic of car break-ins for many years, but we are making progress. Reports of break-ins are down 10% since last year and 18% since 2019 levels–but they remain far too high.
The cost of these break-ins on the life of our city is absolutely a problem. Residents should not have to fear leaving their car on the street for 2 minutes & tourists should leave SF with happy memories instead of trauma & frustration.
The locked-door requirement causes a number of auto burglary cases to be dismissed despite clear evidence. My bill will clarify that the unlawful entry of a vehicle with the intent to commit theft establishes the crime of auto burglary.
I’m grateful for the support of Mayor London Breed, San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins, Supervisor Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Police Chief Scott, advocate Sharky Laguana, Cassandra Costello with San Francisco Travel and, and Regan Capponi of Union Street Merchants. Let’s get this bill passed
Oct 23 – FBI Releases 2022 Crime in the Nation Statistics
1 comment
Magic mushroom bill was obviously of a higher priority for him and democrat controlled legislature.
Safety for your property, family and you is last on their list.
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