CNN reporters on assignment covering street crime in San Francisco, Calif., were robbed outside city hall on Friday, an incident that comes as the Democratic-run city struggles with a crime surge.

“Got robbed. Again,” tweeted Kyung Lah, CNN senior national correspondent. “We had security to watch our rental car + crew car. Thieves did this in under 4 seconds. Security stopped the jerks from stealing other bags.”

The theft happened while Lah and her crew were conducting interviews about voter discontent with the city’s rampant street crime, according to the CNN journalist.

[No one is safe when government refuses to take control of the streets. San Francisco officials are making it clear that this decision is deliberate, as David will explain in more detail later this evening. — Ed]