San Francisco Car Smash-and-Grab Reports at 22-Year Low after Crackdown

In fall 2023, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, standing at the landmark Palace of Fine Arts, announced that his agency would be cracking down on smash-and-grab car break-ins — a problem so seemingly perpetual in the city that it has its own name.

How perpetual? Minutes before the news conference began, a rental car was "bipped" just around the corner from where the city officials were set to speak.

The crackdown would involve a number of interconnected strategies and tools: an overtime unit focused on car break-in hot spots; targeted stings aimed at prolific offenders; bait cars, license plate readers and even drones.

Just over a year later, those efforts appear to have paid off. Since that news conference, not only has the number of reported car break-ins fallen precipitously, but a Chronicle analysis also found that it hit a 22-year low in 2024.

And that's only because records earlier than 2003 weren't readily available.

The numbers come amid a citywide drop in both violent and property crime reports — both of which also fell to two-decade lows by the end of last year. Those declines were part of a nationwide dip in crime, though reported crime in San Francisco fell even further.

The decline in car break-ins contributed heavily to the drop in reported property crime overall. Break-ins have historically been one of the most common crimes in San Francisco.

And so far in 2025, the numbers seem to be following the same trajectory. Though numbers fluctuate, February, the most recent month for which full data was available, saw the lowest number of reported car break-ins in a single month in several years.

While car break-ins, like all property crimes, are very likely to be underreported, the sustained downward trend is promising. San Francisco has grappled with persistent car break-ins nearly as long as there have been cars in the city. Residents habitually double-check that nothing is left on a seat or the floor of a car after parking. Signs warning visitors to "park smart" and take their belongings out of the car abound near the city's landmarks.

The change has been noticeable for San Franciscans: Auto glass repair shops contacted by the Chronicle said they had noticed fewer people coming in with smashed windows, and the scattered glass that was once a common sight on streets and sidewalks in busy neighborhoods is far more infrequent.

Police spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky told the Chronicle in September that the department had made key arrests of people believed to be responsible for strings of break-ins, which he said had a "profound impact" on the overall numbers.

Police did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Citywide, car break-ins fell more than 50% from 2023 to 2024, according to police data, and nearly every neighborhood in San Francisco saw a double-digit decline. But neighborhoods that have historically had the highest number of break-ins — touristy areas in the city's northeast corner — saw the largest drops in terms of both absolute numbers and percent change.

North Beach and Russian Hill, which in the city's definition include Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, both saw 70% fewer car break-ins in 2024 than in 2023, with North Beach seeing 1,200 fewer reported smash-and-grabs and Russian Hill seeing 760 fewer. Hayes Valley also saw a notable drop with about 700 fewer break-ins, a 67% year-over-year decline.

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