That's exactly what happened to one resident this week. The homeowner had been alerted by their guard dog — who was, understandably, losing it — but after crating the dog, they turned to find an unknown woman just… there. Inside their home. Uninvited.

Disturbing? Absolutely. But here's where it goes from disturbing to absurd: SFPD responded, did not arrest the woman, and told the homeowner to file a restraining order.

Let that sink in. The police department's official guidance for someone who committed textbook trespassing — entering another person's home without permission — was to pursue a civil court remedy. As one local put it, "How do they propose that you get a restraining order against an unknown person?"

It's a fair question. Restraining orders require you to identify the person you're filing against. This wasn't a neighbor dispute or a bitter ex. This was a random stranger walking into someone's house.

A nearby resident reported seeing the same woman going door to door on Lawton Street, testing multiple houses. Whether she was mentally unwell, casing homes, or something else entirely remains unclear — because SFPD apparently didn't feel the situation warranted further investigation.

Now, should you lock your doors in San Francisco? Obviously, yes. But an unlocked door is not an invitation, and trespassing is trespassing regardless of whether you made it easy. We don't tell people who left their car unlocked that auto burglary is fine, actually.

This is the kind of incident that erodes trust in the system. A homeowner does the right thing — calls the police, cooperates, provides information — and gets a bureaucratic shrug in return. No arrest. No follow-up. Just paperwork passed back to the victim.

San Franciscans deserve to feel safe in their own homes. And when someone literally walks into your living room uninvited, "file a restraining order" is not a serious answer from a serious police department.