While doing a story on smash-and-grab robberies in the Western Addition, NBC 11 reporter Cheryl Hurd herself became a victim of a smash-and-grab theft. (Cue Morissette.) While waiting in her NBC 11 van, with a laptop on her lap, three dicks opened the door to the van and snatched the computer right off of Hurd's lap. Mean! We like us some Cheryl Hurd!

Anyway, smash-and-grabs are popular in the WA--well, crime in general is red hot over there. And San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarim is all sorts of shades of angry about it, claiming that "the city is not doing enough, and that he expects more from officials and law enforcement to help resolve what he called a crisis." SFPD, however, whines that they're doing a "tremendous job." Hrumph.

Luckily, nothing else happened to Hurd, a Vallejo native who has been with the station for the last four and a half years. She goes on to report that items stolen via le smash-et-grab are typically "sold to buy guns, drugs, and other items that support gang activity."

Perhaps in an effort to appease the masses for screwing them over on insane parking ticket allocations, the San Francisco Police Department, the Mayor's Office, and city prosecutors are working together to stop the city's most "overlooked crime": smash-and-grab auto burglaries. (Also known as "Boosts." Oh, that's fun name!)

With an average of 41 smash-and-grabs per day in SF, the Mayor's office created a special task force that arrests one boost-happy hoodlum per week, preventing "at least 10 to 20 [break-ins] per week," according Lt. Dave Lazar, who went on to say that "[o]ne person doesn’t break into just one car. They move on and target more." Which? True. We never thought of it that way. Booters are certainly tenacious, it seems.

SF Examiner's positively fellating article on the drop claims that since the Mayor's Office launched the program in September, it has "contributed to a 22 percent drop in incidents reported between October of this year (1,068) and October 2006. (1,373)." This, yes, is something to be proud of, for sure. But it runs the risk of ruining the glass-bit collage we've been working on, but...whatever.

And the best place to park in SF? A guarded, locked up garage, of course. And the worst place to park according to SFPD and Gav's Office? Find out after the jump!