CNN reporters on assignment covering street crime in San Francisco, Calif., were robbed outside city hall on Friday, an incident that comes as the Democratic-run city struggles with a crime surge.
"Got robbed. Again," tweeted Kyung Lah, CNN senior national correspondent. "We had security to watch our rental car + crew car. Thieves did this in under 4 seconds. Security stopped the jerks from stealing other bags."
The theft happened while Lah and her crew were conducting interviews about voter discontent with the city’s rampant street crime, according to the CNN journalist.
"This is ridiculous," Lah tweeted.
Following a dip in 2020, violent and property crimes in San Francisco have spiked in recent years. A San Francisco resident has a 1-in-16 chance of being a victim of property or violent crime, according to a recent study.
The CNN team's experience comes as Democratic-run cities push for lax criminal penalties amid record crime surges. As New York City police officers leave the force in droves, Democratic mayor Eric Adams is asking that store owners ban masks in shops to crack down on a wave of burglaries. In Washington, D.C., the police chief said the city needs to keep "violent people in jail" because most criminals arrested in D.C. are never charged.
In recent weeks, Democratic officials in San Francisco have focused on banning gas stoves and paying millions of dollars in reparations to black residents.