SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — In 2017, auto burglaries were way out of control in San Francisco.

Some city leaders have called the problem an epidemic, an epidemic the San Francisco Police Department has been tasked with solving.

On Monday, San Francisco’s top cop rolled out his plan to reduced auto break-ins.

Officers from San Francisco’s Taraval Station are a part of the city’s new general crimes unit.

Their job is to crack down on quality-of-life crimes, says Police Chief William Scott.

“General crimes unit addresses property crimes and robberies, car break-ins, bike thefts, chop shops, burglaries,” Chief Scott said.

A press conference was held on Monday to announce that the general crimes unit is the city’s answer to what is described as an auto burglary epidemic.

“A little bit over 3,000 auto burglaries last year, 3,900 approximately, which is a 24 percent increase over the last year,” Chief Scott said.

The city’s Sunset District is one of the locations that has been hit hard by these property crimes.

“I do know that we are in the Sunset District, which many will consider a very safe district,” San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang said. “However, we are not free from these property crimes that occur.”

There are “park smart” flyers with information on how to make your vehicles less attractive to auto burglars. They are being placed on cars.

It is a part of the auto-break-in prevention effort.

But will it be enough to deter thieves?

“No!” said Odwalla, the owner of Irving Pizza. “I think that the only way for this to happen is to have tough laws against break-ins.”

Right now, any property crime valued less than $950 is considered a misdemeanor offense, making the job of deterring auto burglaries even more difficult.

“It is a difficult challenge ahead of us, and we all know that,” Chief Scott said.

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