A video surfaced online of a group of thieves breaking into three cars in less than two minutes near Fisherman’s wharf, gaining over millions of views in less than a week. The video illustrates the phenomenon of car-breaks or ‘bipping’ in San Francisco, which are becoming more and more frequent throughout the city.
“When I was at a Dodgers game at Oracle park with my family a couple years ago, my parent’s car was broken into, and they took my parents’ suitcases with their laptops and iPads inside,” senior Sarah Rasic said. “We filed a report, because we had tracking on the device, but nothing happened,”
In 2022, there were over 22,700 car break-ins reported in San Francisco alone, with an average of 74 per day, according to SFPD. San Francisco has one of the highest rates of bipping in the country per population, with over 19.8 break-ins per 1,000 people, compared to cities like Los Angeles, which only have 6.0 per 1,000 people.
“When I first moved here, I didn’t know that break-ins were so prevalent,” Religion, Spirituality and Theology teacher Clint Hackenburg said. “But one day I came back to my car and I see shattered windows and glass, and they had taken clothes and shopping bags I left there,”
The most frequent spots for car breaks-in are North Beach, Japan Town, Presidio, Russian Hill (alamo square) and the Financial District, according to the San Francisco standard. Thieves typically target tourist spots, since tourists tend to carry valuables such as luggage and devices in their vehicles and are less likely to file a report to SFPD.
“When we were at a restaurant on Geary, someone broke into our car and stole my sister’s school bag,” freshman Arria Shimizu said. “The passenger window was smashed, so we were really surprised, but at the same time, what would you expect in this city,”
To catch thieves in the act, SFPD have taken more creative measures, like installing ‘bait cars operations’ and more surveillance in break-in hot spots and tourist areas, like the Palace of Fine Arts and Fisherman Wharf districts. Yet despite their efforts, only fourteen thieves have been arrested for car breaks over the course of the past two years.
“Sometimes, when I’m riding my bike in the marina, I see five cars in a row with their windows smashed,” Hackenburg said. “The city needs to do something because if you don’t administer justice, the people will do it themselves,”
Despite their frequency, car-break-ins are avoidable. According to the Parker Police Department, there are several ways to prevent a break-in, such as by engaging the car alarm and stowing your electronics and accessories well out of sight.
“We either need more watch on this by police or people need to stop leaving things in their car,” Rasic said. “This was preventable but we need more justice for things getting stolen.”
