Burglars Caught and Released: the Policy San Franciscans Voted For

Partial snapshot of Tyler Howerton's arrests

Your humble blogger stopped posting on property crime in San Francisco nine months ago. The City didn't seem to be doing anything to stem the tide, and, of course, crime has escalated. We're starting to follow the issue again because there are faint glimmerings of a shift in attitudes.

The Chronicle highlights the futility of San Francisco's soft-on-property crime approach. Police arrested Nicholas Tiller and Tyler Howerton for stealing expensive bicycles. [bold added]

According to documents reviewed by The Chronicle, both men had extensive criminal histories: Howerton had been arrested seven times on suspicion of burglary since 2019; Tiller had been arrested 13 times in burglary cases since 2013. Both were on probation at the time they were apprehended last week.

What to do about the two men is a quandary for a city pursuing criminal justice reform while debating how to manage rates of property crime that for years have been among the highest in the nation...Last week, Superior Court Judge Brian Ferrall ordered Howerton released from jail with GPS monitoring...

Tiller remains in jail. Attorneys representing Tiller and Howerton declined to comment.

In San Francisco burglary is a lucrative occupation because, if caught, the perpetrator is released to steal again. Many thieves have upgraded their skills and equipment because the rewards have become greater, while the risk of imprisonment has nearly disappeared.

the crimes are serious, but not violent. The perpetrators are often methodical, repeat offenders with tools and expertise. They know how to drill holes and use wires to open garage doors; they don’t have the desperation of people who steal packages from porches, or even of the drug store shoplifters who grab toiletries from shelves and toss them into garbage bags.

And in the case of the most recent arrest, both defendants have long rap sheets. Tiller even made headlines in 2016, for participating in a robbery of the Make a Wish Foundation at 400 Market St. and stealing — among other things — a scooter autographed by former Giants right fielder Hunter Pence.

Boudin and other policymakers believe that incarceration fails to address the root causes of property crime, such as poverty and addiction.

A sensible counter-argument is that incarceration keeps them from robbing more people and may even have a deterrent effect on others criminals, actual and potential.

But San Franciscans disagree with the latter point of view. They keep voting in the Progressives who created the "humane" policy of repeatedly releasing people like Nicholas Tiller and Tyler Howerton to ply their trade. As we said last year, they're getting what they wanted, good and hard.