I don&#x27;t think what you say is wrong. But I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s the ironclad reply you hope.<p>As Anatole France said, &quot;In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.&quot;<p>I just had my bike stolen out of my back yard here in the Mission two days ago. I&#x27;m still mad. But odds are that it was some homeless addict, and enforcing the law and putting him in jail for a few weeks will be no more effective in solving the problem of petty theft than not enforcing the law.<p>I would certainly like to see the cops arrest the people up the stolen goods chain, the people who actually have something to lose. Crime shouldn&#x27;t pay. But the way to stop people stealing to survive is to help them find some more productive way to survive.