'You Can't Make This Stuff Up': What Bay Area Residents Are Doing to Prevent Car Break-ins

Leah Barkoukis | December 17, 2021 8:10 AM

Some Bay Area residents are taking unusual steps to help prevent vehicle break-ins amid rising crime in San Francisco and Oakland—they’re leaving their trunks open so their windows don’t get smashed in.

The latest move “shocked” former San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief Garret Tom, who told ABC 7 “there’s so much that can go wrong here.”

In a separate interview with KGO-TV, Tom commented that he never saw such behavior by residents in his nearly 40 years on the job. “We’re in different times,” he commented, while warning that the drastic measure actually may encourage more theft.

"They could steal your batteries, your tires," he said. "They could go into your glove compartment and find out where you live."

Oakland’s Interim Deputy Police Chief Drennon Lindsey, meanwhile, said “it doesn’t really surprise me”

SFPD has reported a 32 percent increase in car break-ins so far this year compared to last year. The city has also seen a 25 percent spike in auto burglaries. Police say it's a similar trend in Oakland. So far this year, OPD has reported around a 27% increase in both car break-ins and auto burglaries. (ABC 7)