Questions remain about San Francisco police's move to use bait cars

SAN FRANCISCO — In late August, San Francisco police announced they will be using bait cars to turn the tide against the city's notorious problem of car break-ins.

"I'm not going to go into a whole lot of details because, by design, we want the people who are breaking into cars to be caught. And bait cars we believe will do that," Chief Bill Scott said Thursday.

For many who have been victims or just frustrated by the problem, the first reaction might be, "It's about time." And many people are wondering why police are making the move now.

"An ordinance amending the police code, requiring rental car companies to write disclosures to customers advising them to remove valuables," Frank Noto read from the first piece of legislation he pushed for.

Related: Bait cars, added police patrols deployed to curb auto break-ins in San Francisco

"That's March of 2017," he adds. "2017 was the peak of it."

It was the issue that compelled him to take action.

More than 31,000 break-ins that year and it had everyone looking for answers. Bait cars were widely suggested, but Noto said police had concerns. One was a question of manpower, dedicating enough officers to make the operation work.

Another was that if officers were watching and waiting at the bait car, and thieves did strike, pursuing them would be prohibited by rules established by the police commission.

"The fear was that you can't actually chase after these bad guys unless there's something that endangers life under very extraordinary circumstances," Noto said.

There is, of course, another way to use a bait car.

"The operation we've uncovered and made an arrest in is a massive global operation," District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in May of 2022.

Boudin announced that his office used bait cars to track down Quoc Le, suspected of receiving some 1,000 stolen electronic items, some of which were tracked from bait cars to a Tenderloin Boba shop.

"The primary goal — I want to be very clear was never to arrest the people breaking into those cars," Boudin said at the time. "The goal of this operation was to map out the flow of stolen goods in San Francisco and beyond."

Arresting the car burglars, Boudin suggested, was a task for police.

"They may be breaking into cars that are put out there by the San Francisco Police Department," Scott said Thursday. "Or stealing property that belongs to the San Francisco Police Department."

As for why police are just now opting to use bait vehicles, on burglars or fences for that matter, that is a question the department, so far, has not specifically answered.

"It's hard to know," Noto said of the reasons behind the recent development. "But it could be that technology has changed. They can track them better."

As for Quoc Le, he was arrested again in May of this year. He was charged by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office with possession of stolen goods, marking his third arrest in four years.

And for the burglaries, whether police are taking a page from Boudin and going after those fencing stolen property or using technology to identify and track thieves, without engaging in a pursuit, is something only they know. And whether it will work or not remains to be seen.