Senator Wiener Introduces Legislation to Close The ‘Auto Break-In Loophole’ Law

In an unusual break from pat proposed legislation, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill on Friday that would close a loophole in the current law surrounding car break-ins, allowing for those breaking in to be easier to prosecute.

Currently, auto break-ins are subject to something known in the state law as the “auto break-in loophole.” Under this loophole law, “convicting a suspect of auto burglary requires that prosecutors prove not just that the person entered the vehicle without permission or did so forcibly but also that the vehicle was locked. The mere fact that a window was broken is insufficient — prosecutors must prove that the door was locked, which requires that victims must physically come to court to testify as such.”

As tourists and residents in San Francisco don’t have the means to or are too busy to go back to the city where the break-in took place to testify, many cases were derailed because the victim did not go in-person to court as needed. As a result, criminals remained un-prosecuted inn San Francisco, which also has a large bump in unprosecuted crime as well.

According to Senate Bill 905, by Wiener, the bill would make forcibly entering a vehicle with the intent to commit a theft therein a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year or imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. Essentially, forcible entry alone will be enough proof under SB 905 to result in proving auto burglary, with no in-person visit to court needed by the victim should they not be able to attend.

“Car break-ins have long been a huge problem in San Francisco, and we need to address this issue aggressively,” said Senator Wiener in a statement on Friday. “While San Francisco has made recent progress tackling this issue, we need to continue that momentum. The locked door loophole is nonsensical. A victim of auto burglary should not be asked to testify that they locked the car door. It’s simply not relevant. By making clear cases of auto break-in easier to prosecute, SB 905 helps make California safer for everyone.”

In another statement made on X, Wiener elaborated posting “I introduced my 1st new bill of the year: Closing the “locked door” loophole for auto break-ins, SB 905. Under existing law, even if you can prove someone broke into a car, if you can’t also prove the doors were locked, you can’t prove the case. SB 905 eliminates that loophole.”

I introduced my 1st new bill of the year: Closing the “locked door” loophole for auto break-ins, SB 905. Under existing law, even if you can prove someone broke into a car, if you can’t also prove the doors were locked, you can’t prove the case.

SB 905 eliminates that loophole. pic.twitter.com/1qkgOdNqSL

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 5, 2024

Early support for the bill also came from another surprising place – the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

“Let’s be clear: car break-ins are not a victimless crime,” said Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who announced that a resolution would be voted on for the board to support the bill in the Senate. “They result in a loss of property, a violation of privacy, and significant financial burdens for victims.”

Because of the rising crime throughout the state, as well as in San Francisco proper, SB 905 received little opposition on Friday. However, due to 2 similar bills failing to pass in 2018 and 2019 respectively, also authored by Wiener, experts said that passage of SB 905 this year will likely be another uphill battle.

“This is a loophole that obviously fails to prosecute criminals,” lawyer Melanie Sola told the Globe on Friday. “That it be Scott Wiener of all people trying again to make it easier for criminals to be prosecuted should tell you just how bad crime is in San Francisco, as well as what the overall feelings of letting criminals walk away scot-free after committing crimes are to the people of the city, and throughout the state as well.”

“The language of the bill is still a turn off for many in the Senate and Assembly, and Newsom really hasn’t given a clear way on which way he can go. But if there is support coming from both law enforcement agencies and community groups, especially those usually at odds with each other, then this bill can get significant momentum. People are tired of loopholes like this for criminals like people breaking into laws getting away with it.”

“If Wiener is on board, and notoriously lax San Francisco is on board, then opponents will have a hard time fighting back against this one.”

More on SB 905 is due to come out soon.