SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco is looking to put an end to organized crime operations known to be responsible for car burglaries throughout the city.
The city announced Tuesday it will offer a cash reward system of up to $100,000 for individuals who provide accurate information, pending the arrest and conviction of the individuals involved.
More than $225,000 has been raised so far for this cause.
“The frequent auto burglaries in San Francisco are not victimless crimes, they have real financial and emotional consequences for the victims,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “These break-ins hurt our residents, especially working families who do not have the time or money to deal with the effects, as well as visitors to our City whose experiences are too often tarnished after an otherwise positive experience.”
The peak of auto burglaries this year was recorded at 566 citywide incidents for the week ending July 4, according to San Francisco Police Department Compstat data.
Ever since Breed’s initiative to expand police patrols in high-traffic businesses, there has been a 37 percent drop in auto burglaries from the July 4 numbers.
Breed assigned 26 additional police officers on bicycle and foot patrols to watch over highly sought-after travel destinations.
A total of 358 auto break-ins occurred in San Francisco for the week ending on Oct. 17, according to the city’s most recent data.
