CBS SF reported:

Fed up with brazen property crimes, residents in San Francisco’s Marina District are taking matters into their own hands to protect themselves.

Katie Lyons, a San Francisco resident, said people “don’t feel safe in our neighborhood.” She continued:

And we have an alarm, we have cameras on our property, but we want the extra security of having someone have eyes on our place.

Lyons explained that home burglaries and auto theft have become so pronounced that they decided to hire Patrol Special Officer’s Alan Byard to deter would-be criminals from operating in her community. Her neighbors have also done the same. “Byard said he makes several rounds in his vehicle from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. looking for anything out of place or suspicious,” the report said. Members of the community are paying $65 per month per residence for this service.

“It’s a nice area down here, people are afraid of what’s been going on,” Byard explained. “They want a safe place to raise their kids. In the last year, I’ve had 10 of my clients move out of the city.”

The officer stated that his residential clients have more than doubled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained the most pressing issue is car burglaries and that he typically deals with homeless people sleeping on people’s doorsteps. He often deals with petty theft and burglary issues as well.

Patrol Special Officers employ private patrol workers and are overseen by the police commission.

Lyons also told reporters that burglaries have gotten out of control in her neighborhood.

From CBS SF:

Lyons said it is not uncommon to find stolen property including empty luggage dumped right outside her home. Car burglars commonly break into vehicles parked by the Palace of Fine Arts nearby.

“Especially at night, I don’t walk with a purse, I’ll drive, or I’ll take an Uber, and it’s beginning to become a daytime problem too,” added Lyons.

Earlier this month San Francisco Mayor London Breed vowed to crack down on crime by offering rewards of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of criminals engaged in organized shoplifting rings and other types of theft. However, it does not appear this tactic is gaining any traction.

The crime rate in San Francisco has been climbing since the beginning of the pandemic and it does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The destruction being wrought by criminals who have been empowered by lax crime policies has pushed residents to launch a recall effort against district attorney Chesa Boudin, who seems to have an odd aversion to prosecuting criminals when they commit crimes.

The first effort to remove Boudin from office failed, but the second one seems to have garnered enough signatures to hold an election. Indeed, many prosecutors working in his office have resigned and joined the effort to get him out of office.

One can’t blame these residents for hiring their own security to keep themselves safe. It has become abundantly obvious that the city’s leadership has no intention of offering protection for their residents. Folks like Breed and Boudin prioritize wokeness over safety and it is clear they are willing to allow people to be victimized by the criminal element to do so.

There are many other cities whose governments have decided to take a lax approach to crime and it could be the beginning of another exodus from blue areas. So-called progressive policies have shown that they are anything but progressive. Indeed, creating an environment that empowers criminals while making law-abiding individuals more vulnerable is bound to have horrific results. Common sense would dictate that people will either take matters into their own hands or run for the hills.

But until people fight back by voting with their feet or launching effective recall efforts, progressives will continue to do what they do best: Destroy communities and exert more government control over people’s lives.