One local family's experience tells the story. A 65-year-old woman was targeted twice in separate incidents — once while grocery shopping in Chinatown, where two individuals attempted to lift cash from her while she was distracted, and again outside the Macy's near 5th & Market, where a different group followed her, stood uncomfortably close, and started unzipping her bag. Both times, she was alert enough to catch them. Both times, the suspects bolted the moment police were mentioned.
She was lucky. Plenty of others won't be.
Let's be direct about what's happening here: older Asian Americans are being singled out as easy marks. Whether it's a calculated strategy by organized crews or opportunistic predators reading the room, the effect is the same. And anyone who lived through the wave of anti-Asian hate crimes during 2021-2022 knows this city has a painful recent history of failing to protect its most vulnerable residents.
Three arrests are a start, but a "start" doesn't cut it when crews are operating brazenly in broad daylight in some of the most trafficked areas in the city. Where's the increased foot patrol presence? Where's the coordinated response between SFPD and the DA's office to ensure these suspects actually face consequences?
As one local put it after watching videos of the techniques these thieves use: "I'm going to change how I store my stuff as a result. I really didn't realize how easy it was to get into someone's backpack while they're wearing it."
Some practical advice worth passing along, especially to elders in your life:
- Keep wallets and phones in front pockets or secured cross-body bags
- Avoid displaying cash in public
- Stay alert to anyone standing unusually close in crowded areas
- Don't hesitate to loudly confront or call 911
Awareness helps. But it shouldn't be a substitute for a city that actually enforces the law.
