IMHO, they want to tank property values so that well connected people can buy up the property cheaply. Once that’s done, they’ll crack down on crime, people come back, and the well connected now have doubled, or tripled their net worth. (And if they’re not the politicians themself, they’ll make significant “donations” to them).
The point of allowing shoplifting is to promote the belief that there should be no private property. Everything belongs to the state, who should decide who gets to eat and who gets medical care, etc. The point of allowing violent crime is to promote the belief that the average person is guilty of white supremacy, Christian Nationalism, xenophobia, transphobia, and many other sins, and deserves to be randomly punished. Larry Krasner, Alan Bragg, Chesa Boudin, Gascon, all want reparations through violence against the oppressors. Collateral damage is acceptable and desirable to them.