San Francisco lawmaker proposes plan to make it easier to prosecute carjackers

San Francisco officials announced a new bill on Thursday that is aimed at addressing car break-ins by improving prosecution methods.

Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Mayor London Breed introduced legislation that would remove the requirement that prosecutors must prove beyond reasonable doubt that a vehicle owner’s car was locked at the time of the break-in.

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“San Francisco’s high rate of car break-ins is unacceptable, and we need to ensure our police and district attorney have all the tools they need to address it and hold people accountable for committing this crime,” Wiener said during a press conference.

Breed said the removal of the requirement was common sense, and she was joined by San Francisco city leaders at the Palace of Fine Arts, a hot spot for tourists where rental cars are often targeted by carjackers. Other hot spots include the Marina District, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Civic Center.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said San Francisco police have reported 15,000 car break-ins this year. The number of vehicle break-ins has already surpassed the 11,853 seen in 2021. In 2022, the city saw about 15,000 vehicle break-ins, according to police data.

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Jenkins said that despite the high number of crimes this year, most carjackings have gone unprosecuted. In the first half of the year, she said that among the 11,000 break-ins during that time period, only 86 cases resulted in felony auto burglary, and roughly half ended in a conviction.

“My prosecutors could go into court today even having an eyewitness to an auto burglary, but without having an individual who owns or possesses the car say they locked the doors, could be required to dismiss the case,” Jenkins said.