The San Francisco Police Department is flaunting its technological powers over car thieves in a flashy drone video — complete with embellished camera zoom sound effects and a soundtrack fit for NBC’s Law & Order.
Released Thursday morning, the video shows drones following a suspected crew of “bippers,” local slang for someone who smashes into vehicles and steals belongings from inside.
The video also credits license-plate-reader technology: Police are using Flock cameras to follow suspicious vehicles around the city and wait for the perfect time to pounce.
In the Aug. 22 incident captured on the video, the Flock camera alerted police to a red Hyundai that had been suspected of use in an auto burglary a day earlier.
Officers deployed the drone and watched from above as the Hyundai pulled into a parking lot near the Embarcadero. In the video, a hooded figure emerges from the vehicle and smashes into a black SUV with Nevada plates, retrieving three suitcases with help from another hooded suspect. As the two head back to the Hyundai, one is seen wrestling with the luggage for space in the back seat.
The drone followed the vehicle, “avoiding a chase,” police said, before officers deployed spikes and arrested three suspects. All three had loaded firearms, police said. The stolen luggage was returned to its owners.
Auto burglary offenses in San Francisco have dropped 56% over the past 12 months. However, crime remains prevalent, with more than 11,000 incidents recorded citywide in the 12 months to Tuesday, according to police incident data analyzed by The Standard. There were more than 23,000 incidents the previous year, according to The Standard’s analysis.
Mayor London Breed reposted the video on X, writing, “SFPD’s new technology is helping to lead to arrests all across our city. … This is the kind of change our voters delivered when they approved Prop. E.”
Prop. E, a ballot measure approved by voters in March, gave SFPD expanded surveillance powers, including the use of drones.