The incentive when you pass laws basically to decriminalize minor theft is to encourage minor theft, which is exactly what is happening. Similarly, the incentive when you allow people to crap on the sidewalks, take drugs openly, accost people for money and leave your filthy belongings lying around is to encourage all of these things to happen, only at a magnified pace. But all this was approved by the people of San Francisco; they knew what they were voting for with crack-brained leftists as supervisors, the radical son of triple cop murderers as the DA, approving by plebescite the removal of theft as a crime. Rudy G. knew as mayor of NYC that when the authorities tolerate minor crimes (squeegee men, jumping the subway tokens) you get major crimes and attendant filth. The residents of SFO are getting what they deserve; they want to live in filth and squalor, they voted for it and they got it.
What are you saying? Elections have consequences???
Fighting crime is not difficult....as Giuliani proved, the people who commit these small crimes are the same people who commit the big crimes.
Arrest them for the small crimes and get them off the streets and the big crimes start to diminish as well.
Imagine that....using logic and intelligence instead of emotions and hysteria.