Despite, or perhaps because of, unrelenting social media evidence of rampant shoplifting and stolen-goods markets in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie held a press conference on the city’s robust efforts to stem retail theft.
Lurie began with an overview of recent progress. Property crime rates are at a 22-year low and he declared that “the era of broken glass on the streets of San Francisco is over.” He credited increased law enforcement and new technology for building strong cases to hold offenders accountable.
“Retail theft demands the same intensive focus,” Lurie said, explaining the toll these crimes take on how people feel about their city, that theft raises prices on consumer goods, and drives customers and businesses out of neighborhoods.
“That’s why we are taking urgent action to stop it,” he said. “From day one of my administration, we have been clear: If you come to San Francisco to commit a crime, we will catch you, and we will arrest you.”
At SFPD headquarters, Lurie was flanked by District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Police Chief Derrick Lew, who highlighted successes and the challenges ahead.
For example, over the last six months, San Francisco police officers have made 844 retail theft arrests, a 27 percent increase over the previous half of the year.
“SFPD’s stepped-up enforcement against organized retail crime has led to a nearly 20 percent decline in larceny cases so far this year,” Lurie said.
Undercover SFPD task force officers are now stationed inside unnamed stores to catch thieves in the act, and are working with the retailer’s loss-prevention staff to streamline the process. The task force has also partnered with the sheriff’s department and the district attorney’s office to build cases that stick.
According to Lurie, SFPD is especially targeting repeat offenders and breaking up organized theft crews.
As for what happens to the stolen merchandise that does hit the street, Lurie said the city is working to stem the illegal resale markets, such as the one that has spread along 16th and Mission streets where people can buy everything from clothes that still have tags on them to meat swiped from supermarket shelves.
It’s a vicious cycle.
“Those illegal fencing operations put money back into organized theft and send people out to steal again,” Lurie said. When asked if there is an effort to crack down on the buyers, Jenkins said no. Cases against them are too hard to build, so their attention is on the thieves and sellers.
Sherrill said grocery store access has been significantly hurt by theft, citing the closure of Lucky’s on Fulton Street, a CVS on Van Ness Avenue that nearly closed, and rampant shoplifting at the Whole Foods stores on California and Franklin streets.
“When we talk to the grocery store operators, the biggest thing hurting their businesses is retail theft,” Sherrill said. “The workers take such pride in their work, and they feel threatened every day.”
“In some of these cases, we have seen suspects carrying weapons and threatening employees,” Lew said. “We’ve all seen the viral videos of thieves in Whole Foods, Walgreens and local shops and businesses, as bystanders watch in shock and disbelief.”
Lew said SFPD has been focusing on habitual thieves and fencing operations. Over the past 12 months, the department has seized more than $412,000 in stolen merchandise. SFPD made more than 100 fencing arrests in July and August as part of its effort to dismantle the resale markets.
SFPD is expanding enforcement operations and building partnerships with retailers, too. Lew pointed to the August bust at REI, where law enforcement not just made arrests, but connected the perpetrators to other cases for prosecution, leading to stronger consequences.The department is ramping up enforcement blitzes across the city.
Lew invited the public to help by contacting SFPD at sfpd.retailtheft@sfgov.org.
Jenkins said retail theft remains one of the city’s central challenges. She addressed criticism grocery stores face when they close because of theft, saying they shouldn’t bear the brunt of such crime.
“Making sure that those who are the most prolific thieves in our city, who’re doing the most damage to our neighborhoods, have to be held in custody while their cases are pending with my office,” said Jenkins. “So many of these people have committed theft over and over and over again in San Francisco.”
Jenkins explained that a major hurdle is a California Supreme Court ruling that has limited her office’s ability to “do what we need to do to keep those people from committing more theft in our stores.”
In 2021, the California Supreme Court ruled in In re Humphrey that judges can’t keep a person in jail before trial just by setting bail at an amount they can’t pay. Because of this ruling, the person can only be held in jail before trial if the court finds clear and convincing evidence that nothing less restrictive would reasonably protect public safety or make sure the person shows up in court.
“And so we will work on this to make sure [we] get the California constitution changed so that we, as a court system, can do what we need to restrain those who refuse to follow the law, so we can protect our communities and drive those numbers down,” said Jenkins.
Lurie also noted that Salesforce’s annual conference begins next week in San Francisco.
The South of Market area has become a vexing trouble spot for crime and drug use. The streets around Moscone Center are being cleaned, security and police are being deployed.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, says 50,000 people are expected to attend.
“This will be the largest and most important DreamForce ever, and we could not be more excited,” Benioff told The Voice in a text message. His company has recently donated heavily to local efforts in San Francisco and Oakland, including more than $156 million for public schools and over $13 million for safety and community.
Keeping conferences like DreamForce in San Francisco — and ensuring all goes well — is essential for the city’s financial health.
Is crime abating? Yes, assured the city leaders, emphasizing that serious efforts are underway.
“We’re excited about the trajectory, but we have more work to do,” said Lurie.
