Though robberies are down 28 percent compared to this time last year, the slow return of gatherings and semi-normalcy may bring back both petty and violent theft.

This weekend’s uptick in crowd sizes at parks (and subsequent tsk-tsk’ing on social media) tells us that, for better or worse, San Franciscans are beginning to more than dip their toes back in to going places, getting together, and going about a modified version of normal life again. But our increased participation in outdoor society may also increase thieves' participation in society, too, as the Examiner brings us the news of a 72-year-old man who was punched out and robbed  his camera, one of several violent weekend robberies.

The camera robbery clearly sounds coordinated, and no spur of the moment thing. Per the Examiner, the victim was at the corner of Drumm and Washington Streets (seen above) just before 5:30 Sunday afternoon. Two suspects approached him and one punched him in the head, and the duo immediately hopped into a waiting SUV that drove off. The victim’s name has not been released, and police say he is is injured but expected to be fine.

A number of other violent robberies occurred Sunday, and Saturday saw some petty theft too. No arrests have been made in any of these cases, as of press time.

• In Portola, another likely planned job saw two male suspects knock down a pair of women, steal their backpacks and flee in a waiting sedan near Felton and Goettingten Streets.  
• At Third and Bayview Streets Sunday afternoon, an argument between two women “turned violent,” with one of the women stealing the other’s cellphone and purse.
• And on Saturday, in a more garden-variety tourist district petty crime, a group of deplorable teens snatched the cellphone of a woman taking a photo in Fisherman’s Wharf.

The Examiner notes that reported robberies are down in 2021, with 554 of them this year compared to 770 as of March 28, 2020. But there’s no comparison between this year and last. In March 2020, we’d been going about our lives as usual up until the March 17 shelter-in-place order brough everything to a halt. In contrast, most of 2021 has been cooped up indoors with the ‘Purple’ and ‘Red’ tier blues. We are slowly beginning to return outdoors, and this may mean sharpening our sense of awareness, as thieves are in mid-season form as we’re trying to figure out how to socialize again.

Anyone with information on the above incidents, is encouraged to call the SFPD tipline at 415-575-4444, ot text TIP411 (847411) to send an anonymous text.

Related: Brazen Highway Robbery Caught on Camera in SoMa [SFist]

Image: Google Street View