New report reveals car break-ins in San Francisco epidemic

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A new report calls car break-ins in San Francisco an epidemic.

A civil grand jury found last year there were nearly 25,000 break-ins resulting in $19 million in property loss. "When it happens regularly and you get up thinking this is how my day is going start, it's just a bummer," Lucas Ringhofer said.

Ringhofer has had his car broken into three times in the past three months and he's not alone. "Every morning I walk to the gym and I see broken glass from my neighbors' cars on the street," he said.

A San Francisco civil grand jury report finds auto burglary crimes are on the rise. "It's pretty bad, 24,800 reported incidents last year. That's just the reported ones," Mike Skahill said.

Of those, the vast majority were committed by criminal street gangs.

And, arrests were made in less than two-percent of the cases. "So what they need to do is really target specific offenders who are the real cause of the problem because there's only about 20 percent of offenders who do 80 percent of the crimes," juror Mike Skahill said.

Skahill says a solution will require a coordinated effort among elected officials, police and the district attorney. "We do prosecute 80 percent of the auto burglaries that are brought to our office. we're able to take action in those cases and we do," District Attorney spokesperson Max Szabo said.

The police department issued a statement on the report saying in part: "The patrol Bureau Task Force and police officers assigned to district stations have made numerous arrests of prolific burglary suspects and will continue their efforts to that end."

Breaking into a car, with the intent to steal, is a felony under California law.