Will These Smash-and-Grab Thieves Steal Items From Bait Car?

Brazen bandits in San Francisco keep breaking into car windows, stealing anything left inside the vehicle. The smash-and-grab problem is especially bad near Ghirardelli Square where tourists flock for chocolate treats and photos. To test how bad the smash-and-grab problem is, Inside Edition purposely left a suitcase, a Bluetooth speaker, a purse and a guitar with GPS trackers inside a bait car. An hour later, two men showed up and stole the purse and speaker. The mayor of San Francisco declined an interview but tells Inside Edition in a statement that they are implementing new tools to combat car break-ins, including utilizing their own bait cars and installing hundreds of new cameras at smash-and-grab hot spots.

[@ak47marx16]

1 broken window, 0 thieves caught, 2 days wasted. Mission accomplished.

[@RoyerMZ]

And that man's 40 bucks unless they give him back the speaker

[@RedLineShortFilms]

I mean, they did it for the story. And they got some decent footage. It would have been a waste of time if no one broke into the car lol

[@jroc4321]

@@RoyerMZ it looks like they removed the actual speakers from the speaker to make space for the gps tracker. so i hope they gave that man his $40 back lol

[@kleingreenlee7006]

good use of resources.. lol

[@Sacred_Fire]

Yeah, but she said the mayor of San Francisco is blah blah blah 😂

[@OatmealPancake-ej8ky]

I’m so tired of these inside edition investigations- they always let the thieves get away with the stolen merchandise it’s soooo annoying. At least have police on standby with you!

[@harrybaals2549]

you realize this is San Francisco. The police aren't coming! HAHAHAHHA

[@Sa.d.bo26]

The police don't give a damn bro

[@buttbuttson737]

Even if the police caught them, they'd just let them go.

[@micah2936]

It’s California, stealing is legal

[@nidarshak2415]

Yes.. they just want a story to show... that's all. And at the end she's saying "mission accomplished". What did they accomplish?????? Just showing the faces of innocent, probably homeless people who have done a purchase, with their own money.... What did they really accomplish?????? 🤔

[@Adnane_L]

They really went there and knocked. How did they expect that to go? "Sir, you stole our speaker" "Here lady, take it back" "Thank you sir, have a nice day" *_Mission accomplished_*

[@Cryptech1010]

It doesn't matter how they expected it to go, because it's still entertaining

[@Shawtygotpressure]

@Adnane_L Exactly😂

[@topwargear]

yes lol

[@kevind825]

Lucky, they did not meet with a 45 "hello"

[@joelwillems4081]

@@kevind825 The criminal wasn't a strong-arm thief, he was a little punk that broke windows.

[@BBFAN1676]

"We hid ADVANCED GPS trackers inside of everything" 2 minutes later "So we lost the GPS signal"

[@spicer6666]

Hahahaha 😅

[@TheCarpentersApprentice]

😂😂😂

[@islandgirl9479]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@averyintelligence]

"what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" - Kelly Clarkson 2006 💪

[@empirestate8791]

Probably took it underground.

[@USSEnterprised]

My wife and I arrived in the city and went straight to the wharf. WIthin an hour of being in the city we already saw our first smash and grab. Then it was followed by a crazy person threatening another tourist with a knife. It feels like the city is out of control.

[@aicsynthesizer]

welcome to Cali.

[@leopard3473]

“we installed advanced GPS tracker” them:we lost the signal

[@Jennifer-jf2gp]

More security cameras and so called new tools to combat these crimes won't solve this problem. It is a shame that tourists as well as people in CA don't feel safe. It is time to address this type of crime with real sentencing.

[@wheelmanstan]

yeah it's like when they said the southern border just needed technology... out elected officials act like they're trying, but this ain't rocket science, seems it's part of an agenda, Lindsay Lohan could run this country better

[@TheLexiechey]

People need to vote better, stop voting for leaders who allow this insanity.

[@fullcircleessentials]

Visited San Fran twice. Last trip was 2018 with an ex to see Alcatraz. Rented a car and stayed in a small hotel. Shopped at the mall and brought bags back to hotel room (never left in car). The homeless problem was still there but notice/see any crime. After seeing the major change with San Fran I won't be back, but glad I'm made the trip for a 2nd time yrs ago. San Fran is a beautiful place and the problems needs to be fixed to keep Tourist coming back & for locals.

[@NunYaBiz1313]

Gavin Newsome will have them out within the hr. Along with the mayor of San Francisco.

[@AndyPhu]

yup! The ONLY PROVEN way that works every time to combat theft let alone crime across the board, is simply improving the material conditions, education, infrastructure, and the living standards of your average low to middle income families.

[@chalexen2862]

4:47 “Mission accomplished?” You didn’t even do a citizen’s arrest on the suspect nor post a wanted poster of his face.

[@study7794]

What can they do with a police department that doesn’t even care

[@Frink108]

@@study7794 police don't care because judges just let them go days, if not hours, after they get arrested and prosecutors don't bother charging them.

[@jakefox3677]

@study7794 It’s the judicial system not the cops. Imagine if you were a cop there and anytime you arrested someone for a crime they were immediately let loose would you find a point in arresting them anymore no.

[@Blu3Dope]

The mission was to retrieve the speaker lol

[@chalexen2862]

@@Blu3Dope But Inside Edition along with experts were able to perform a sting operation before and arrest the king pin of bike theft. No excuses.

[@jasonlucas2328]

Sadly, the mayor has no solution. Since she took the office, things have become much worse.

[@8eeable]

And DA Pamela Price must go! Turning a blind eye...

[@ropeysubstance1719]

if the mayor wasn't the mayor, she'd be down there looting cars too. that's what her folk do.

[@britishroyalfamilyvideos]

Keep voting blue

[@linhv4792]

One thing they still vote for her and garvin newsom

[@williamdraken6018]

Women in power destroy societies.

[@boobentobi1737]

Damn, did they at least give homie his $40 back? 😂😂

[@isntbogo]

my hope for humanity was as shattered as those windows 😭

[@jamalwilburn228]

Most of them aren't trying to feed their families. They know thefts aren't immediately taxes and Mayor London Breed is there inside person who will defend them

[@trevorjensen2706]

Most of humanity doesn't behave this way. Keep the faith.

[@Unfamous_Buddha]

I hope they reimbursed the homeless-looking guy for the $40.00.

[@finemLudum]

fr

[@incogspectator3042]

​@trevorjensen2706 Yes they do don't give him hope lol

[@CUMBICA1970]

I've been living in Japan for 26 years and never got robbed. In any way, shape or form. Then the flipside is you forget this is not the norm but an absolute exception (last time I went back to my home-country Brazil I got mugged right away at gunpoint.) I'm not sure I can ever go back living outside Japan (then at some point I have to.)

[@rakijr9176]

That's because Japan is mostly Japanese people who tend to be respectful and polite. I'm guessing the people who mugged you in Brazil have very similar physical characteristics to the thieves in this video.

[@Aiden-ke8ht]

😂@@rakijr9176

[@Slenderslayer351]

You can leave your stuff in public, fall asleep in public and nothing will happen.

[@mmx2731]

Japan also does have the double edged sword imo that it’s so respectful that it gets lonely

[@nopasanadax3]

​@@rakijr9176so you're saying white people don't steal?

[@slowpoke1]

My buddies and I would of loved going there if we were 20 yrs younger. I remember sitting up all nightvwaiting for thieves to steal my buddies toolbox after they broke into his shop a day earlier. We would never let them get away and safe to say after we were done they would never be able to steal even if they wanted to for a very long time.

[@bthomson]

Sign in a store window " We wait in here all night with a gun three nights a week - guess which three?"

[@ooXChrissieXoo]

they dont look like they got $40 to spare lol

[@mcdragon0123]

So you're telling me, they found the guys place, but didn't call the cops? 🤔

[@Shastasnow]

Well, they got his face on camera for all to see. But that does not stop criminals, and neither does arresting them. What a shameful City

[@Xane_Dragon]

They had Lisa 😂

[@drm6007]

SFPD won't bother with that, trust me.

[@limpwhale]

It would be a misdemeanor since it’s bellow $1000. They would only get ticketed

[@kevinJ6665]

He’s black. It’s 2023 they have all the privileges now. Everyone is terrified of being called racist.

[@mofomoco]

Until people start fighting back this will never end

[@r.f.pennington746]

I used to accompany the wife every year for her week-long symposium at the civic centre by Union Square (?). She'd work and I'd stroll around SF at all the usual haunts. Our last trip maybe 6-7 years ago, I got jumped by three at Fisherman's Wharf (60yo, 6-3", 230#) in broad daylight with quite a number of witnesses, some who filmed it of course. I defended myself with a 4 inch bladed kn*fe and was able to get them off and going with minimal damage to any of them. Absolutely no help from anyone as they were too busy trying to get a good one for KZbin. I was bleeding from all over and could barely stand. Cops called. Cops more interested in why I had a kn*fe than me being mauled. One asked me, "Why do you feel the need to carry a knife around?" I spit out a wad of blood onto the sidewalk and said, "Gee, I haven't a clue..." As an ex-LEO, I found their work a bit shoddy. The next year--after SF being home for two decades--the symposium fathers decided to move it to NOLA. Never been back to SF, never going back to SF.

[@ralphw3636]

I will never visit San Francisco

[@petergamache5368]

Problem solved: I left California in the 90's, when it was a land of high taxes, high crime rates, obscene rent and fuel prices, and self-aggrandizing buffoons in local government. In the decades since, it has only gotten worse. They don't need to "implement new tools" by building a bigger surveillance state! They need to do actual policing, with cops on the streets.

[@dbdnrbdb]

Cops aren't the problem though. The DA is..

[@eightlights4939]

Hope you didnt keep voting Blue after you left that cesspool. Otherwise, please return to get more of exactly what you voted for.

[@dbdnrbdb]

@@eightlights4939 I'd never vote blue.

[@samuellopez1957]

​@@eightlights4939Red Would Be Much Worst. With A President As 🦧🤡👹🍊

[@suzukisentinel9570]

I went there for Telecom training in 2020 & it was crazy. A country boy from Arkansas watching people slam dope in broad daylight and take a dump on the sidewalk in front of little kids was a shock.

[@radiorob7543]

I don't make enough money to get by. I'm moving to San Francisco, to take advantage of the easy, and lucrative business of theft.

[@sweet_amir]

This mission is so stupid on so many levels.

[@drowe2]

I live 45 min away, and I will not go to SF for any reason. I even missed watching my son’s team play there. The city is in huge trouble as their tax base is shrinking and crime keeps getting worse. They will need a bailout in 2-3 years.

[@greenbamboo4264]

Smash and grabs, shop lifting, public drug use, drug dealings and stealing should all be felonies at this point. It’s a free for all out there and it’s time to change that.

[@charc0al_tv]

Lets the criminals get away without attempting to stop them, or call police. "Mission accomplished" ?

[@xOzymandias]

I grew up in the hood and was surprised when I visited SF couple years ago. As soon as I checked in to hotel, the front desk talked to me about locking my car and not leaving anything inside when touring the city. Ive traveled around and have never heard this before, not even in my neighborhood which is ghetto AF

[@carlosarias2011]

Kalifornia needs to uphold the law, and jail these thieves. I am not spending my money in Kalifornia, I'm taking my business elsewhere.

[@SoraFan23]

What can I say the crime rate in California has gotten so bad.

[@RetroFreak35]

It’s been happening for awhile especially in the eighties.

[@Iowa21]

Liberal policies along with being weak on crime

[@ralphkilloran8065]

Inside Edition 5 years ago "How Inside Edition Helped Catch These ‘Smash and Grab’ Thieves". Upsetting seeing Inside Edition's crew car broken into and thousands dollars of equipment lost.

[@dreb1846]

Thieves everywhere

[@Anthony74te27]

Funny how you guys were able to track and watch everything unfold but SFPD can't do the same. .This is going on far to long, I was working for a car rental company in downtown SF back in 2017 it was so bad , we ran out of space to park our broken glass cars.

[@Hide_and_Tweak]

It's funny criminals think music instruments have no value. I got an old macbook pro stolen in my apartment, but luckily the thief didn't take anything else, I had like at least 5000$ of gear in this place. Maybe they didn't have a car to carry everything, but it's still weird.

[@stargazeronesixseven]

Remembered walking with pride & friendliness in San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s ... OMG! So saddened to witness the deterioration of good civility in San Francisco after 2016 ... Bad parenting , Lack of Civic-Mindedness study in Schools , Weak Governance , Spread of abuses of Synthetic Drugs & Addictive Alcohol , Ignorant of the workings of Karma that lead to the Selfishness of committing Crimes & Culture of Blaming Others except Oneself! 🐕 🐈

[@DrBozoEinstein]

We have a lot of desert in CA. How about setting up "criminal housing" in tents there, like AZ does?

[@cannibalmilkshake8923]

okay. TAKE THE TRACKER AND GIVE THEM BACK THE SPEAKER 😭😭😭

[@snokespraetorianguard]

It was a fake speaker

[@louskunt2641]

All these criminals in this video have something in common. Care to guess??

[@oak415]

if you’re one of them. How do you live with yourself? Seriously

[@TheRManProds]

UM INSIDE EDITION, STOP LETTING THE THIEVES GET AWAY WITH THE STOLEN STUFF!

[@burnzy4419]

Problem would be solved if people started booby trapping their cars BUT laws protect BAD people. The owner of the vehicle would face charges for protecting their own property if the thieves gets hurt.

[@Watchingin09]

Animals. Too bad we can’t booby trap our vehicles.

[@keithjohnson1830]

We put a bait car and left in it a brick of gold, a Picasso painting and a pile of cash

[@miguel92996]

Hmm they all have a similar thing in common .

[@casienwhey]

It's almost like the cops could learn something about how to catch thieves if they watched videos like this one.

[@jonathansmith3276]

They "bought" it for "$40" of illegal drugs and the "Investigator" should clearly suspect that....yet doesn't ask them about that...

[@brianmoore4778]

Nothing happens to criminals in California. Unless you behave well in jail then you get released early. Yea

[@owenator]

This city needs Mark Rober's help

[@miriammctaggart8351]

If I have a store there, I would protect myself and my store…just saying 🤬🤬🤬

[@Karen-ig6bp]

Haha. This happens daily here in South Africa! To us it's a "normal"...

[@wrightvcx2249]

So kind of robbers to sell it to the homeless.

[@ralphw3636]

I enjoy watching the decline of this democrat paradise

[@uf9309]

Need more police and prisons

[@Frink108]

Won't help if Judges and Prosecutors just keep letting them go.

[@alext8828]

"...stop for chocolate treats and photo ops..." ? Oh, those poor tourists.

[@desireepaulplummer4386]

I’m glad I don’t own a car don’t have to worry about someone breaking in and stealing valuables besides the car it’s a shame they’re gonna lose a lot of tourists coming in renting a car keeping her valuables in there knowing this is gonna happen every time😑

[@Ult0X]

Denial

[@tanaa2x586]

So you’ll never own a car? WTF

[@grantzelenick8200]

Because people don’t break into houses so not having a car makes you safe

[@VladimirJacinthe]

So, you live somewhere with reliable transit and is walkable for most errands?

[@kaspervestergaard2383]

There is something called a bicycle. @@VladimirJacinthe

[@mariamacternan4894]

They don’t give a damn . My husband and I use to go to San Francisco almost every weekend . Not anymore !! Same goes for Oakland !

[@maestroh2986]

So you couldn't follow the guy at night, couldn't gain entry to his domicile, and then located the speaker only once it was sold. Good job.

[@SuperAgentman007]

Why don’t you put a sticker on your window saying “if you value your life, don’t break my windows”😂

[@DemarcusQ]

They’re not helping the stereotype problem

[@terrorsquadlith]

It's not a stereotype, it's a FACT at this point for sure.

[@Showza83]

"A bad area of town"...That basically describes all of SF...😂

[@aminashiek3788]

Lived in Sf for 3 years and never got my windows smashed. I must add I always left my ebt card on the dash so they know I’m broke.

[@HummaKavula-DontVoteForStupid]

I’m surprised the thieves didn’t steal the “LOCK UP YOUR VALUABLES” sign

[@BlazingShackles]

"had no idea it had been stolen". Uh hello, EVERYTHING sold on the street is stolen.

[@CrimeTalkWithTricey]

Look who it is smh the same people

[@selfmade1086]

Guess what ethnicity?

[@mariieedior]

This is exactly why I always lock my stuff in my trunk

[@gamesdottom]

The city or government ain’t doing the right things to provide this. We need a change!!!!

[@jdd1979]

Bait cars an extra security cameras mean nothing when the city won’t prosecute them.

[@jklax]

If you defend yourself against these lowlife animals, they'd throw you in jail for intolerance.

[@jasonredpill7473]

guess the suspect

[@kevinmoore8780]

Mission Accomplished? The core story was important to tell. The silliness of the bait car was just theatrics. It's not just San Francisco as I had a smash and grab at Panoche Road and #5 in the middle of the day in a very busy parking lot. I had foolishly left my backpack in the back seat so a tempting target. Never did that again.

[@Carlospjr]

You would expect that the City would have police officers working in this area. Prevention is the best medicine.

[@sherrylawrencelewis2544]

Do not leave anything in your vehicle ever. It does not matter where you live. Every vehicle comes with a trunk (aka a 'boot' called so in the 🇬🇧). Folk, you should use it.

[@whatsthematterbeavis6017]

If they break the window, they can pop the trunk.

[@ace112131]

Or just have stricter jail sentences for them

[@fernandoiglesias5707]

40 years ago, a girl from San Francisco stole my heart. I'll never return.

[@lindaanderson3698]

You don't have to go back there. They will move to you once San Fran and these other cities go down.

[@markleach2177]

They descended from the trees to grace us with their talents.

[@thisrandomlife619]

Camera's aren't going to do a dang thing! When you reduce jail times and bail money for these thugs, this is what happens.

[@ezrathaler9260]

if you do exactly what the signs tell you no to do, that's what happens. Don't leave valuables in your car, it that simple.

[@socalnahtty]

Its so organized. Why hasn't this organization been stopped yet?

[@jasminejones8558]

I thought NY and Colorado was bad lord this is beyond terrible.

[@iamluke21393]

Yeah, probably just won't go to a big city until the crime wave and minimal sentencing is fixed.

[@TheHolmanator]

Happened to me in SF, stole my laptop, but left the 1911 under the seat… bunch of idiots.

[@AbdulLeonard]

Thieves:smash -n-grab Me:tag -n- bag

[@dirtysanchez5154]

How about a minimum of 10 years in prison without ability to down departure sentence

[@CeeWorld69]

California, the gift that keeps on giving LOL!!

[@theinfamousninapink]

What’s the purpose if they’re not gonna catch the actual person? and they have the audacity to take the speaker back!

[@PrimePrime-gz7hd]

There just giving them the full American experience 😂😂

[@alexmercier3274]

In usa you dont have to worry about 2 guys on a motorcycle, you have to worry about 3 or more guys in a hyundai

[@davidbailey1721]

RIP USA, it was fun while it lasted.

[@a88pockets]

There should already be cops patrolling these tourist destinations. The issue is the basically don't care if they don't patrol. Hire more cops. SF is a horrible city now.

[@gtron7692]

Great GPS tracker commercial.

[@tsmith682]

They need to put tracking devices. They need to a job

[@Cosmo87-]

They just took it from the homeless people at the end 😂

[@scottlin777]

I don't lock my car doors and I don't keep anything in my car. I would rather a thief open my car door rather than bust a window.

[@W3Slots]

They should smash some job applications. All that work 😂

[@luffymonkey3837]

Well, never go to that city, lesson learned.

[@rachaelramos]

Damn so close to getting the purse too!

[@tonio5084]

"Its a beautiful city" lol

[@therealmr.nobody9601]

This was horrible. You have the info. and address to have the person arrested. SMH. Bad Investigation

[@0tto9]

What a waste of time. You had the guy that did itand lost him. Great reporting!!

[@kylepasta]

What a waste of time

[@OFD]

This is Gavin Newsom's California folks 🤦‍♂️