> They [the police] really don't care I don't think it's something you can lay at the feet of the SF Police Department. I asked Pete McLaughlin, SFPD (retired)

> They [the police] really don't care I don't think it's something you can lay at the feet of the SF Police Department. I asked Pete McLaughlin, SFPD (retired), why the police don't go after bike thieves more aggressively. "Our hands are tied," he said. "They [the thieves] know the most we can do is give them a citation, and they'll be out that afternoon." California has a history of being lenient with non-violent crime, which is appropriate in some cases, but maybe not in others. Maybe leniency is the wrong approach for some of these bike thieves. But it's complicated. I heard Jerry Brown (former California Governor) talk about how ~10% of the state budget goes to prisons, and he's not comfortable with such a large amount, and I agree--throwing people in jail is expensive!