It’s Getting Dangerous for Photographers in California
Update Dec 15: another camera store is robbed.
Readers might wonder why I have not shown any photographs from the San Francisco area for many years now. Or for that matter, the Purissima Creek Redwoods.
It’s simple: I began to feel unsafe even five years ago. Vehicle break-ins are now guaranteed within an hour or two for a van like mine, let alone the personal danger. A 'street' photographer is taking his/her life into their hands, and ironically, the risks are from the authorities too—legal risks if one dares to defend oneself.
Anon writes (names also changed)
I sent this to my contacts at the Leica SF store 12 days before their armed robbery / break in. I didn’t get a response back from either AAA or BBB, but they only work there, and presumably, they passed it on to the owner(s).
My worry was people walking out of the store would be robbed at gun point. I’ve had a couple of warranty repairs done at this store, and I didn’t fancy stepping out of the store and getting mugged. Clearly, the robbers were more ambitious.
...
It’s getting more and more dangerous for photographers in the Bay Area. This one was in broad daylight outside the palace of fine arts in SF. A wedding photographer taking engagement photos of a couple is pistol-whipped and robbed of his gear:
2 PHOTOGRAPHERS ATTACKED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS SAME DAY OUTSIDE PALACE OF FINE ARTS
Elections do have consequences, and this is what Californians have voted for.
I assume you are aware of incidents like this. It could be dangerous to walk out of your store with a bag in hand. You may want to think about putting up some security cameras at the front and back of your store so you can keep an eye on parked cars or any unsavory characters hanging out within a 300 feet radius.
... People need to be aware of the dangers in the SF Bay Area. Not just photographers with cameras, but anyone with any visible, expensive-looking items like jewelry. The California state also just released from jails over 7,000 pedophiles who spent less than a year of their prison terms, some as little as two days. It’s completely insane.
DIGLLOYD: your only safe option is to never go to places like San Francisco, a haven for criminals and drug addicts and the morally depraved politicians and the people who vote them in: your rights mean nothing, and the rights of criminals, now often in organized gangs, take precedence.
Just this week, the Leica Store in SF was violently robbed, but it’s not just a a property crime, traumatizing salespeople and customers. IMO, such actions should be first degree felonies, minimum 20 years. Full Sharia maybe.
While we are extremely grateful that no one was physically injured, all of us feel that some time is needed for the staff to fully process this traumatic event and have an opportunity to decompress.
“I’ve heard a number of professional photographers say ”we never go on shoots without a gun”...”
Even in the genteel bastion of woke enlightenment of Palo Alto CA (2nd only to Menlo Park on wokeness), armed robberies and shootings and stabbings—once unheard of—are now happening with discomfiting frequency. My wife doesn’t feel fully safe there anymore. Yesterday, the Apple Store on University avenue was robbed. No one tried to stop them, which is the smart move for just about everyone, but a sad commentary on the lawlessness and feeling of helplessness sweeping the nation. My bet is that if someone took down the robbers physically (eg tackling/punching/etc), the feckless powers-that-be in Palo Alto would prosecute the good Samaritan!
The police have become a clean-up crew, affording you no protection. A privileged class who can protect themselves on and off duty and even when retired‚ but not you or I without special dispensation from the State. But I don’t blame the police in these matters—it’s the DA and progressive ideology that keep them from doing their jobs. So we all have to live with the breakdown of civilization... and people keep voting for that.
It is de-facto impossible to protect yourself within incurring huge risks: skilled criminals will laugh and take away your pepper spray @AMAZON or stun gun @AMAZON. If you carry a firearm (even legally with CCW permit), the government will spare no expense trying to incarcerate you for life even if you did everything by the rules, after you put a bullet into the piece of shit waving that Glock in your face—such a nice boy, he had only 23 felonies and his family loved him. And good luck with not getting shot even if you have a gun. And if you emerge from the horrifying legal miasma after defending yourself against criminal charges, then if you have any money left you’ll spend it all defending a civil suit from the family of said criminal—instead of a medal for improving the world. Which is why (firearm or not), you should belong to USLawShield.com or similar and be very, very afraid of carrying or using a firearm (because of the legal repercussions). Women are especially screwed by this immoral and broken system, having little to no recourse against larger attackers.
That’s what California has become today. Protect yourself and you become the criminal. The law says one thing (see page 39) and then does another almost without exception (prosecutes a victim daring to defend him/herself). And don’t even think about deadly force (knife, gun, baton) for protecting property of any kind (camera, dog/cat, etc)—legally impermissible. You will be prosecuted almost without exception. In today’s progressive legal climate, all honest people are losers. You are cannon fodder for the ideology that deems you unworthy of meaningful self defense.
Don’t even think of a gun unless you are committed to doing so legally, and at least 2000 rounds of live-fire practice and at least an 8-hour classroom course on the legal aspects plus a legal membership like USLawShield.com, plus a willingness to deal with years of legal headaches as well as the trauma of killing a human being. Anything else is, IMO, irresponsible. The photographers in the news saying they “carry a gun” in San Francisco situation are taking a major legal risk that could land them in jail very easily. The cure can be worse than the disease, given the legal climate.
Want something fully legal even on an airplane? Get a defensive cane and train to use it. Hardened criminals know what they are, and will steer clear.
Below, I will never photograph here again; I’d not only have to park out of sight and sound and come back to a damaged/looted vehicle, but at dusk you’re a sitting duck for thievery or worse.
Leica S2 + Summarit-S 70 @ 70mm
[low-res image for bot]
Dr S writes:
First, agree with everything you say. Even dangerous where I live. There have been 8 home invasion robberies in my greater upscale neighborhood area in the last 6 months.
One additional problem of the San Francisco robberies is the press it receives gives the criminal element new ideas of what to go for. Yes, now photographers whether pro or amateur are the newer targets. Scenes of people in broad daylight in LA getting robbed of their Rolex watches are becoming commonplace. The criminals won't concern themselves with serial numbers when perpetrating the crimes. That's what they do and it is shameful there isn't a more effective system of apprehension and punishment to deter such activity.
Maybe the future of outside pro photography is a capable mobile phone. Less conspicuous and everyone seems to have one. It hurt to say that.
DIGLLOYD: I’m sure a phone is much less subject to theft than a fancy camera, but phones get taken by force, being quite valuable. Either way, the risk of injury dwarfs the loss of the camera or phone.
Laws are no deterrent. Unless a criminal knows that 1 in 5 victims might yield a Really Bad Day (as in fatal), this sort of thing will only get worse.
Roy P writes:
One of my friends told me six months ago that a photographer standing on a beach somewhere in the Lands End area in San Francisco was shot dead from the back as he was peering through his camera on a tripod. The poor guy never knew what hit him, and they quickly ran away with his gear and camera bag. The killers were never caught.
In September 2019, there was a sailboat race in the SF Bay, and a group of six photographers had gotten together to photograph the boats. They had made arrangements to meet at a specific time at a parking lot near Fisherman’s Wharf. Shortly after they all arrived and pulled out their gear from their cars and assembled together to plan their day, a parked car pulled out and drove up to the photographers and stopped. A gang of four hooded men jumped out with guns drawn and grabbed all the equipment, then quickly jumped back into the car and drove away. Apparently, the photographers had set up a group on Facebook to plan their meet up, and the exact place and time were precisely described! Somebody else had also noticed that.
So going out on a photo shoot even as a group is not safe. Two punks with guns can overwhelm a half dozen people and steal their gear.
What I don’t understand is, how the thieves dispose of their stolen goods. Eventually they have to sell it for cash, and I don’t know who they sell it to. Most likely, there are other criminals who front all this equipment, but then, even they have to sell it to get paid, and I don’t know where and whom they sell it to.
Maybe they sell them on eBay, Amazon or Craigs List as used equipment at hugely discounted prices. Anyone who buys equipment like this for a bargain price should also realize that the same thieves now know exactly who bought it and the buyer’s home address.
DIGLLOYD: beware of prices too good to be true, sellers who cannot show proof of purchase, etc.
Anon writes:
I am in trigger finger mode, not shutter finger mode. Fine art and pleasures such as photography have taken a back seat to firearms practice. No matter what, if you believe you will suffer death or grave bodily harm, you MUST pull the trigger. Better to be alive and fight them later in the courts. There are go fund me ways to cover the expense, but no expense is worth being too intimidated to shoot if you have to. We live under exponentially increasing tyranny and we must each do our part to either fight it or lose our freedom to it. I choose to fight. Any scum bag trying to kill or maim me or my family will be judged by St Peter within seconds of his attack.
DIGLLOYD: if enough people had this viewpoint, the crime would halt overnight.
See also an ex police officer’s perspective.
Street robberies and you - The Basics
... First, my info. I worked in the street of one of America's most violent, dangerous cities for 15 years. I usually worked in the worst part of that city. I spent 15 years in patrol. I liked patrol. It was wild. Most of the time I worked in areas covered in ghetto. By that I mean large housing projects combined with run down slum housing. I have worked all shifts. Later I became an investigator including a robbery investigator. I have spent countless hours in interrogation rooms talking to hold up men. I know them. I am still an investigator but have quit playing the Robbery game because my family was starting to forget what I looked like.
The Enemy — Some may object to me calling hold up men "the enemy". You can call them whatever you like. I can assure you however they are as deadly an enemy as you will find anywhere but the battlefield. Even many soldiers probably lack the viciousness and utter disregard for life most hold up men possess... Once a man starts armed robbing he has crossed a line most won't. Don't forget that when you are looking these bastards in the eye. Their decision to kill you is already made. Your life means nothing to him. Only his does. His sole motivation for not killing you is he doesn't want a murder case. He has already accepted he may pick one up though.
...
Anon writes:
I had a clear cut case of stolen property being sold on eBay. I had 28 pages of police docs from Baton Rouge, I had a dozen or so from San Diego. I had a pawn shop identify the guy who stole the item worth $800 and then sold it to the pawn shop. The pawn shop then sold it on eBay. Proof proof proof!
I bought the unique collectible item back for $800. eBay would not debit the account of the seller of the stolen item, nor would they reimburse me. They said it was my choice to buy it back. And the police did nothing though they had the name and address of the perp!
eBay is as corrupt as can be.
DIGLLOYD: I stopped using ebay years ago except for buying generic things like auto fluids or similar. And I won’t things priced “too good to be true” — stolen property.
Dennis M writes:
A year ago I had my car broken into and 2 lenses stolen from the central console. Just Prior to this, I had been stalked by an individual as I was photographing birds. I went into dense briars and took out a hunting knife just in case. After 15 minutes the predator left but then broke into my car near a refuge Maryland area.
Using the serial numbers of both lenses, I was able to find one listed on eBay by a reseller in Idaho who was not the perpetrator.
With the help of a local detective, my doing all the work supplying him with all copies of box serial number, bill of sale etc, he contacting the reseller, i received the more expensive lens back and in perfect condition. It was sent to the detective, and I gifted a print to him for his efforts. Btw, ebay was unwilling to get involved.
If you take the financial benefit out of these thefts, and with the potential claim against a reseller for sale of stolen goods, perhaps there will be less incentive for thefts as the market for stolen goods is undermined by fastidious victims.
DIGLLOYD: perseverence pays off, but how many of us would be that determined?
EBay.com has become a disreputable place today—lots of stolen goods, and seller-antagonistic policies that let any buyer lie and cheat without any repurcussions. They have no interest in policing their site. Avoid ebay except perhaps for generic goods.
