quote:

The city of Boston is a liberal cesspool.

Sigh. I was raised in Boston (born in Stoughton). ...I lived in Dorchester (up near Stab and Kill {Savin Hill} ave, across the street from the home for unwed mothers...), Roxbury, and Quincy. When my great grand parents arrived in 1912 they set up in the North End (I am Italian). For Italians my family spread out lol. I credit my love of country with growing up there in the 80's and early 90's. Numerous field trips to Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Plymouth Plantation, The Museum of Science. My schools fostered a love of country. I remember my teachers speaking of Ronald Reagan in the 80's. And they spoke of him in glowing terms. Besides the Pledge of Allegiance we sang My Country 'Tis of Thee every morning up through 5th grade.

Now? I was the first of my family to leave (joined the service). Most of my family members are older, but my sis and her husband are planning on escaping to Florida within a few years (she currently lives on the Cape). It's just not the place we grew up in.

It is a lost cause. There is no shame in leaving. Head out to FA, Free America. My uncle will not leave. His business and his life is there and he will stay. But he wishes he could go to FL. He says he is too old but he encourages my cousins to leave.

There is no shame is leaving. Should the British have stayed on the beaches on Dunkirk to face certain death? Absolutely not. They retreated to the mainland to re-arm, regroup, and fight again.

Abandon blue cities, abandon blue states. Make red states redder. Elect like minded people to town office. Elect sheriff's who believe in the constitution. Elect a school board who allows the students to sing My Country 'Tis of Thee before class.

This shooting didn't get much, if any, national coverage, and damn little inside the state. During the 2020 riots there was a small but vocal BLM protest in the town of Alamosa Colorado. A driver approached the intersection where the protest was being held, waited for the protesters to move out of the way, then slowly proceeded through, but one of the protesters fired his Glock through the rear window, and the bullet hit the driver in the back of the head.

We expect the civil unrest and social rot to occur in major metro areas and urban, and even suburban, corridors...but increasingly we're seeing these incidents in rural areas. The town of Alamosa is hours away from metro areas, is a rural agriculture town, and has a population under 10 K... it's really not all that far from remote public lands I used to hunt up in the mountains.

The shooter in this incident is a defense attorney, and it looks like the DA cut him some slack in plea deal charges and sentencing maximums.

Emphasis added in bold.

=========================

James Marshall sentenced to 11 years for shooting Pruitt

Posted Dec 8, 2021


James Marshall at the June 2020 protest in Alamosa where he would later shoot Danny Pruitt.


Defense attorney and former Alamosa resident James Marshall has been sentenced to 11 years in the Department of Corrections in connection to shooting Danny Pruitt in the back of the head during a local Black Lives Matter protest in June of 2020. Pruitt, also of Alamosa, survived the shooting but sustained a serious traumatic brain injury resulting in permanent damage.

The sentencing brings to a close a case that has been controversial from Day One when a local defense attorney went to a peaceful protest armed with a 9 mm Glock, which he used to shoot Danny Pruitt through the back window of his truck in, allegedly, defense of others, including his wife.

The judicial proceedings that followed Marshall’s arrest “took on a life of its own”, says defense counsel Randy Canney, with multiple continuances as counsel attempted to find a resolution. Ultimately, in an eleventh-hour deal, a resolution was reached even as potential jurors, who had been summoned for jury duty in the case, were gathering in the hallway.

The specifics of the plea deal sparked new controversy when it was learned that all charges directly related to the shooting had been dismissed, including Second Degree Attempted Murder, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Second Degree Assault resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Reckless Endangerment, three of which carried a sentence enhancer that increases the maximum sentencing allowed.

In their place, Marshall was only being charged with Tampering with a Deceased Human Body, also a third-degree felony but one that does not have a sentence enhancer for being a Crime of Violence, does not reflect that a deadly weapon was used in the crime and required a “waiver of factual basis” in the charges in order to be considered by the court. Proceedings were further delayed when it was revealed that the victim, Danny Pruitt, had encountered legal difficulties with the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office and defense counsel requested the DA’s office provide them with court documents.

That was the backdrop of the case when Marshall appeared for sentencing on Tuesday.

DA Payne’s first witness was Sam Coffman, an investigator with the DA’s office, who summarized for the judge the events of the shooting based on videos he had watched from three different businesses located in view of the crime scene. In his testimony, that lasted less than a few minutes, Coffman included three details that were condemning of Marshall’s conduct. Coffman stated that Pruitt pulled up to the intersection. Marshall went to the side of the truck. Three protesters got out of the way of Pruitt’s vehicle. There were no protesters in front of the truck and Mariah Marshall is behind Pruitt’s truck when Marshall fires a shot into the back window of Pruitt’s truck. Pruitt’s truck rolls into the intersection before coming to a stop. At that point, Marshall takes off running past her and leaving her behind him. Mr. Marshall was not seen checking on the other protesters, checking on his wife or rendering aid to Mr. Pruitt. Other protesters went to render aid to Mr. Pruitt while “Mr. Marshall was the first one off the scene,” Coffman said.

Matthew Beresky, an attorney with Rocky Mountain Victim Rights Center representing Danny Pruitt in order to make sure that his victim’s rights are being observed, read a statement to the court.

Beresky described what Pruitt suffered from being shot, including a 17-day induced coma followed by having to relearn basic activities like standing, taking a shower, brushing his teeth and hair. The bullet that is still in his brain has permanently impaired his short-term memory, attention span, speech, ability to control emotions and other cognitive functions.

Beresky condemned the plea agreement, stating that it “offends the very concept of justice and does not reflect the nature of the crime or its effect,” adding that “allowing James Marshall to plead guilty to abuse of a corpse disregards the fact that Mr. Pruitt is a living human being” and stripped Pruitt of his rights.

At that point, Beresky turns his attention to DA Payne’s handling of the case, stating Payne had little to no contact while Pruitt was going through “an agonizing time” and made no attempt to learn how to understand or work with a brain-injured victim, including sending several notices to Pruitt without ascertaining if Pruitt had the ability to read, write or understand what was being said. Beresky described Pruitt as being victimized twice – first by James Marshall and then by the DA’s office that failed to treat him with consideration or respect.

On behalf of Pruitt, Beresky asked that the plea deal be vacated and either more appropriate charges be filed or the case go to trial. If that does not happen, he requested that the maximum sentence be employed

Danny Pruitt then took the stand and made a short statement, saying it has been a long road of recovery and he should not have had to stay in the area to make sure James Marshall was prosecuted. “James Marshall shot me, ran away and hid in the trunk of a car. He should be jailed today and not released.”

Those were the only witnesses called by DA Payne.

Defense counsel called five witnesses to testify – a childhood friend, three colleagues from law school and a CU law professor who allowed Marshall and his wife to live on her land for several months after the shooting.

Each witness described Marshall in the same general terms – as a good, compassionate man who loved his wife deeply, was concerned for her welfare and was devoted to representing “people who have no voice” in the criminal justice system.

Mr. Wang, a former prosecutor in Logan and Washington County, testified that Marshall had told him he intended to pay Danny Pruitt full restitution for what he has suffered. Wang then went on to make the case that, the longer Marshall is in jail and unable to be gainfully employed, the longer Pruitt will have to wait to receive that restitution.

James Marshall then made a statement to the court that lasted more than thirty minutes. It was the first time he had spoken in court other than perfunctory answers.

Marshall spoke at length about his culpability, his regret for having injured Danny Pruitt, his intention to pay restitution and his fervent wish he could “undo” what he had done. He said he wished Danny Pruitt could forgive him, but he did not expect him to.

At one point, Pruitt, who was sitting in the front row, made a comment, which prompted a request from the judge to be respectful. Pruitt also rose from his chair and left the courtroom on several occasions.

Marshall also explained his history with guns, citing “a friend of a friend” who was stabbed near to where he lived in Ohio. Although he took responsibility for what he had done, he suggested that Pruitt had initiated the situation with his “malicious grin” and pointing in his direction. He also described the ways he “had been punished”, which included not being able to practice law in the last 18 months. “At least, Mr. Pruitt will have closure after today,” he said. Marshall also indicated that a decision was made that his law license was going to be suspended for three years.

After a brief recess, Judge Gilbert Martinez stated that he had not seen the video since “the DA did not present that to the court or admit it into evidence.” That resulted in Martinez having to confirm with Payne, in court, that Marshall’s wife was standing behind the truck when Marshall shot Pruitt. Payne confirmed.

Martinez then went through in succinct but thorough detail what went into his decision, stating that Marshall being an attorney did not factor into his decision. “This is a case where a good man did a very bad thing,” Martinez said. “Is there undue risk that the defendant will commit a crime again? No. But would a minimum sentence unduly diminish the seriousness of the crime and respect for the law? Yes, it would.”

The only statement that Martinez took issue with was Marshall saying that sentencing would bring closure to Pruitt. “No, he won’t get that. He will live with this for the rest of his life.”

Martinez sentenced James Marshall to eleven years in the Department of Correction, which is one year short of the maximum sentence, plus credit for the two days Marshall has served in jail. He then instructed that Marshall be immediately taken into custody and transferred to a detention facility.

After the hearing, Randy Canney told the Courier that Marshall was disappointed in the outcome. He also said that they “definitely“ plan to file a motion to reconsider the sentence.

Because Marshall did not plead guilty to a crime of violence, the chances are good that his sentence will be reduced by fifty percent to about five and a half years with potentially less time served if there are no incidents while he is in prison.

Here in MQT we had BLM demonstrations, too. Because we have a college.

Thanks jsbcody! Finally got to a spot with decent connectivity so I could watch your video. One absolutely has to love Angry Cop!

Okay, having read the article posted by MDS, I am confused. Mr. Marshall was sentenced to 11 years in custody of the DOC, but his law license was suspended for three years? Wouldn't 11 years indicate a felony? If convicted of a felony wouldn't an attorney be disbarred? Puzzled...

And yes, the plea deal is obviously a travesty. Minimizing this type of behavior just invites more of it.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
Okay, having read the article posted by MDS, I am confused. Mr. Marshall was sentenced to 11 years in custody of the DOC, but his law license was suspended for three years? Wouldn't 11 years indicate a felony? If convicted of a felony wouldn't an attorney be disbarred? Puzzled...

And yes, the plea deal is obviously a travesty. Minimizing this type of behavior just invites more of it.

Really the only time an attorney is disbarred is when they are caught for stealing from clients....the key emphasis is caught, not the stealing part.

Twelve U.S. cities, all led by Democrats, broke annual homicide records in 2021

https://justthenews.com/govern..._campaign=newsletter

Twelve U.S. cities broke annual homicide records in 2021 — and all were led by Democrats.

Philadelphia topped the list, surpassing 500 murders as of Nov. 26 — breaking last year's numbers with a month left to go in the year. The last time there were this many people killed in the City of Brotherly Love was in 1990.

Rounding out the top five are Indianapolis with 246 killed, Columbus with 179, Louisville with 175, and Baton Rouge with 137.

Philadelphia, with a population of roughly 1.5 million, reached 521 homicides by Dec. 6, an increase of 13% from the previous year. By comparison, New York, with roughly 8 million residents, had 443 homicides as of Dec. 5.

Others in the dirty dozen were: Albuquerque (82 murdered), Tucson (80), Portland (72), Rochester (71), Toledo (62), Austin (60), and St. Paul (35).

Despite these cities seeing the sharpest rises in murder rates, Chicago still leads the nation in total homicides for the year, with 739 by the end of November.

An analysis published by ABC News suggests there's "no clear answer" to explain the cities' record-breaking murder totals, although the report fails to mention that all of the cities it lists are run by Democrats, who were disproportionately receptive to the Black Lives Matter defund-the-police movement pushed by progressives in 2020.

Policies to defund police contributed to increased crime, argue critics, including Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. While experts suggest there are a range of factors contributing to why people kill, evidence suggests that less cops on the street made these cities less safe.

In Philadelphia, for example, the City Council voted in June 2020 to slash police department funding by $33 million. "In addition to approving the budget with reductions in police spending — reversing years of annual police budget increases — Council voted to approve three significant reform bills addressing the police department in various ways," the council announced. Seventeen months later, the city reported the highest number of people murdered since 1990.

In Rochester, meanwhile, the City Council voted in June 2020 to cut police department funding by $3.6 million, or 3.7% of its budget. It also cut the incoming Rochester police class by 50%, choosing instead to spend $130,000 to hire two community city managers that cannot fight crime. Within three months of the City Council's slap in the face, the police department's entire command staff retired.

After the city of roughly 200,000 broke its 30-year-old homicide record, Police Capt. Frank Umbrino said: "We're extremely frustrated. It has to stop. I mean, it's worse than a war zone around here lately."

In Austin, crime spiked after its Democrat-controlled City Council cut its police department budget by $150 million last May. Lack of support from the mayor and City Council caused the department to lose 15 to 20 officers a month and constrained its ability to train new recruits through the closing of police academies.

Seventeen months later, the Austin Police Department announced it could no longer respond in person to non-emergency 911 calls due to staffing shortages.

Now, when drivers get into car accidents in Austin with no reported injuries, 911 won't send an officer. Instead, those in accidents must call 311 to file a non-emergency police report. The same is true for victims of burglaries. If the burglary isn't in progress or the suspect has fled the scene, victims are instructed to call 311 to file a non-emergency police report.

Save Austin Now, a bipartisan advocacy group that supported a ballot measure to restore police funding, lamented that voters succumbed to a misinformation campaign funded by outside money and unions that claimed that if the measure passed other services would be cut. The ballot measure was defeated earlier this year.

With many officers quitting and retiring and not enough new recruits to replace them, the APD projects it will have at least 235 vacancies by May 2022 and 340 by May 2023.

To respond to the crisis, the Republican-led Texas Legislature passed bills signed into law by Gov. Abbott to prevent other cities from doing what Austin did. The first law, which already went into effect, penalizes cities that defund their police departments.

Those with populations over 250,000 that seek to defund their police departments will have their property tax revenue frozen. The state could also withhold sales taxes collected by a defunding city, allocating the money instead to the Texas Department of Public Safety to offset the increased costs incurred by the state to protect vulnerable residents of a defunded municipality.

Another new law restricts counties from defunding police departments. Those with a population of more than one million would require voter approval to reduce law enforcement budgets. If voter approval is not received but the county still defunds police, the county's property tax revenue would be frozen by the state under the new law.

"In Texas we do not turn our backs on our law enforcement officers," declared Abbott. "Texas is a law-and-order state, and we are going to ensure that we keep it that way. Defunding the police is reckless. It endangers the lives of people in communities across the entire state. We cannot and we will not allow cities like Austin to defund the police."

"An analysis published by ABC News suggests there's "no clear answer" to explain the cities' record-breaking murder totals, although the report fails to mention that all of the cities it lists are run by Democrats, who were disproportionately receptive to the Black Lives Matter defund-the-police movement pushed by progressives in 2020."...


"No clear answer"? There's multiple crystal clear answers in each one of those Cities, but what is true journalism is dead, now just totin' water for the democratic machine...

Not only are they democratic run, pro- blm, some of the mayors encouraged the violence!

"Let's give them space to destroy..."
"They're peaceful protests, but if the police mistreated you, call this number, and we set up a special website just to report police misconduct!"

I don't want to get into Portland or Seattle. How anyone is left on their Police Departments is beyond me.

Keep blaming the police for the ills of society, keep vilifying them, keep beating them, keep punishing them for any little mistake and slowly they'll stop doing their job.... Well, at least anything "pro-active".

Hey, the people that live on the corner know that those 4 just standing there are selling dope, and I know through my 27 years of experience that those 4 are selling dope. Hell, years ago when we did pro-active stuff, I arrested all 4 of them for selling dope on that very corner.
Today- "Sorry Ma'am, I'm not violating their 1st amendment right to peaceful assembly, I get in trouble for that stuff. Have a good day."

I can't speaking for those other cities, but mayor lightweight is claiming she's not defunding the police, however...
Like the rest of those cities, the job has gotten so bad and mismanaged, no one wants it anymore.
Now you can stand at the podium and spout "I'm not defunding the police, no one wants the job anymore!"

Kinda "defacto" defunding if you ask me.

The ripple effect down the road-
They're lowering the bar as far as hiring standards for many departments now.

"It's just a few theft arrests... No convictions!"
"It's just a few domestic arrests... No convictions!"
And they let them on the job.

Well, let's not act all shocked and aghast a few years from now when Officer Smuckatelli is stealing from the dope dealers, and Officer Joe Shittheragman pistol whips his girl until dead...

Cops, by nature are a cynical and jaded group. Not really "trusting" either. It takes time to build that trust up. That being said, how long do you think it's going to take to "turn the ship around" with those departments? How many regime changes until street cops actually "trust" politicians or their bosses? Enough to do any "real" police work?

No clear answer we are willing to recognize and address.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
This shooting didn't get much, if any, national coverage, and damn little inside the state. During the 2020 riots there was a small but vocal BLM protest in the town of Alamosa Colorado. A driver approached the intersection where the protest was being held, waited for the protesters to move out of the way, then slowly proceeded through, but one of the protesters fired his Glock through the rear window, and the bullet hit the driver in the back of the head.

We expect the civil unrest and social rot to occur in major metro areas and urban, and even suburban, corridors...but increasingly we're seeing these incidents in rural areas. The town of Alamosa is hours away from metro areas, is a rural agriculture town, and has a population under 10 K... it's really not all that far from remote public lands I used to hunt up in the mountains.

The shooter in this incident is a defense attorney, and it looks like the DA cut him some slack in plea deal charges and sentencing maximums.

Pruitt needs to file a civil suit to ensure Marshall lives up to his word about restitution.

And yet I seem to recall at least a couple of posters here confidently asserting that the police don’t prevent crimes, all they do is take the reports after the crimes are committed. Strange that I haven’t seen that claim made among our group for the last couple of years or so. Do they or don’t they? A real puzzle.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
And yet I seem to recall at least a couple of posters here confidently asserting that the police don’t prevent crimes, all they do is take the reports after the crimes are committed. Strange that I haven’t seen that claim made among our group for the last couple of years or so. Do they or don’t they? A real puzzle.

IHMO, YMMV. Yes, they do. They just don't do it in real time. That can't happen unless there's an officer on every street 24/7, and that ain't happening. What prevents crime is the likelihood of unpleasant, painful or even lethal consequences when and after the police do get involved. That's always been true. But when city officials and DAs refuse to punish, or in more and more cases even to prosecute crimes, there's no more consequences. The police will do a lot more than just take reports, but only if they're supported in that by the rest of the system. So why are people surprised when crime rates go up after the police are neutered?

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
"An analysis published by ABC News suggests there's "no clear answer" to explain the cities' record-breaking murder totals, although the report fails to mention that all of the cities it lists are run by Democrats, who were disproportionately receptive to the Black Lives Matter defund-the-police movement pushed by progressives in 2020."...


"No clear answer"? There's multiple crystal clear answers in each one of those Cities, but what is true journalism is dead, now just totin' water for the democratic machine...

Not only are they democratic run, pro- blm, some of the mayors encouraged the violence!

"Let's give them space to destroy..."
"They're peaceful protests, but if the police mistreated you, call this number, and we set up a special website just to report police misconduct!"

I don't want to get into Portland or Seattle. How anyone is left on their Police Departments is beyond me.

Keep blaming the police for the ills of society, keep vilifying them, keep beating them, keep punishing them for any little mistake and slowly they'll stop doing their job.... Well, at least anything "pro-active".

Hey, the people that live on the corner know that those 4 just standing there are selling dope, and I know through my 27 years of experience that those 4 are selling dope. Hell, years ago when we did pro-active stuff, I arrested all 4 of them for selling dope on that very corner.
Today- "Sorry Ma'am, I'm not violating their 1st amendment right to peaceful assembly, I get in trouble for that stuff. Have a good day."

I can't speaking for those other cities, but mayor lightweight is claiming she's not defunding the police, however...
Like the rest of those cities, the job has gotten so bad and mismanaged, no one wants it anymore.
Now you can stand at the podium and spout "I'm not defunding the police, no one wants the job anymore!"

Kinda "defacto" defunding if you ask me.

The ripple effect down the road-
They're lowering the bar as far as hiring standards for many departments now.

"It's just a few theft arrests... No convictions!"
"It's just a few domestic arrests... No convictions!"
And they let them on the job.

Well, let's not act all shocked and aghast a few years from now when Officer Smuckatelli is stealing from the dope dealers, and Officer Joe Shittheragman pistol whips his girl until dead...

Cops, by nature are a cynical and jaded group. Not really "trusting" either. It takes time to build that trust up. That being said, how long do you think it's going to take to "turn the ship around" with those departments? How many regime changes until street cops actually "trust" politicians or their bosses? Enough to do any "real" police work?

The job is dead. You know it, I know it and any other copper with more than three weeks on the job knows it. It's going to take a complete new generation to get the job back to what it was, maybe more. That's IF you can rid the government of the communists now currently in control. I don't see that happening in places like Chicago or New York anytime soon. As Paddy Bauler said years ago, "Chicago ain't ready for reform". He was correct when he said it and it remains true today. If my kid came to me and told me he wanted to be the Police, I'd lock him in a closet till that urge passed and he regained his sense. I MIGHT consider advising him on a job with the G but that's only in certain agencies.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
And yet I seem to recall at least a couple of posters here confidently asserting that the police don’t prevent crimes, all they do is take the reports after the crimes are committed. Strange that I haven’t seen that claim made among our group for the last couple of years or so. Do they or don’t they? A real puzzle.

It seems we have an entire new set of data on the matter. Data that didn't exist 2 years ago

Had Seattle's CHAZ/CHOP not disbanded so quickly, it would be the perfect specimen for such study.

My son spent lots of time hanging around the station, going to range and quals with me and riding with my co-workers. I thought sure he was going to be a cop. But when he turned 18, I asked him if he had any interest in law enforcement. When he said no, I was thrilled.
If young people now ask me about a career in in law enforcement, I tell them to join the fire department.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:

The job is dead. You know it, I know it and any other copper with more than three weeks on the job knows it. It's going to take a complete new generation to get the job back to what it was, maybe more. That's IF you can rid the government of the communists now currently in control. I don't see that happening in places like Chicago or New York anytime soon. As Paddy Bauler said years ago, "Chicago ain't ready for reform". He was correct when he said it and it remains true today. If my kid came to me and told me he wanted to be the Police, I'd lock him in a closet till that urge passed and he regained his sense. I MIGHT consider advising him on a job with the G but that's only in certain agencies.

Oh, I know the job is dead. And I don't see it turning around any time soon.
New Mayor, New Supt, and for fuck sake get rid of that asshole Carter (our #2 boss on CPD) and his merit hack wife too. Send Tiny Tina Skahill her papers too.

But I don't see anyone at the top who can turn it around. Dennahan, possible. McDermott, He's good, but I don't think he's be able to pull it off. Those as #1 and #2, the job MIGHT have a chance, but it aint happening because they're the wrong demographic today. "Blast from the past"? Bring back Leo (he's Cook Co Sheriff's Police now)... I know he's nuts, bit I don't think he's THAT crazy to take it. Nick Roti? He's be excellent, but there's no way he'd take it either.


Here's some reliable and scary numbers:
Budgeted for 13,500 Officers (from Supt on down)

Now, we're lucky if we have 9,500.

It's expected that 1400 Officers are retiring by March of 2022, Subtract another 250 Sgt's and Lt's in May and June, at least 500 more officers leaving for other jobs in 2022.
That's WALKING OUT THE DOOR...



Walking in:
November's Written test-
155 Invited to take the test.
59 Showed up
29 Passed

The Last Physical Fitness Test-
400 Invites
46 Showed up.....

42 FAILED.


Monday, 13 December 2021- A new Recruit Class at the Chicago Police Academy.
50 were slated to start the 6 month training
20.... that's TWENTY showed up.

So mid June sometime, I'm expecting .75 of a recruit to show up in my Dist to replace the 30, 40, that are leaving.

We're fucked.

CPDsig has it right. It's not like we couldn't take back these cities with a return to sanity in the various city governments.

But, if sanity were to make a comeback, who ya gonna call ?

In retrospect, I am glad I retired when I did. And wife 2.0 says that were I still on the street, I'd be on CNN in 20 minutes.

The job is dead and its a damn shame. Inmates are running the Asylum. Regards 18DAI

San Francisco Drivers Leave Trunks Open as Car Break-ins Surge

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...tm_campaign=20211217

Drivers in San Francisco are leaving their car’s trunk open in an effort to fend off potential auto burglaries as the city reported a 32 percent increase in car break-ins over the past year.

“I’m shocked,” said Garret Tom, former San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief. “There’s so much that can go wrong here.”

Tom noted that “we’re in different times” and cautioned that leaving the trunk open would invite more thieves instead of deterring them. “They could steal your batteries, your tires,” he told KGO-TV. “They could go into your glove compartment and find out where you live.”

San Francisco is not the only bay area city to suffer from increased car break-ins. In neighboring Oakland, both car break-ins and auto burglaries increased by 27 percent this year.

“We have got to do more to get us through this holiday season,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. Schaaf called on private property owners to assist in the city’s surveillance of these criminals by installing security cameras.

“Pointing the cameras towards the street and register it with the Oakland Police Department,” Schaaf said.

Oakland’s Interim Deputy Police Chief Drennon Lindsey said residents’ response to the increase in car break-ins “doesn’t really surprise” her. However, Lindsey warned citizens that thieves have the technology to detect a laptop hidden anywhere within a vehicle.

Lindsey also suggested Oakland residents take a common-sense approach. “Don’t leave valuables in the car, don’t even tuck things under your seat,” Lindsey said.

^^^^^
Isn't San Francisco on a big "Defund the Police" campaign right now?? I honestly don't remember...there are so friggin' many.