New York residents thought pickpocketing was a classic, old-fashioned crime before Joe Biden’s immigration wave, but police say petty crime is on the rise again as more illegal immigrants cross the southern border into New York City.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) report There have been 781 complaints of pickpocketing this year, up from 650 during the same period last year, according to the New York Sun.
The NYPD added that pickpockets primarily come from South America and that there are schools in Colombia that teach pickpocketing techniques.
“There’s a core group of people who do this,” said former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, adding that in New York, that group is “growing with immigration.”
Unfortunately, the NYPD appears to view this crime as a low priority, mainly because prosecutors and courts rarely send criminals to prison.
Hannah Myers, director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute, said prosecutors are less concerned about criminal suspects and “decline to pursue cases because they know the barriers are high and the burden is too great.”
This situation has emboldened pickpockets, encouraging them to act more recklessly, safe in the knowledge that they will not be arrested or prosecuted.
“These days, there are almost no penalties for anything,” Kelly lamented, adding that “more than 50 percent of the felonies filed with New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg have been downgraded to misdemeanors,” the Post reported.
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last year, CBS News He noted that pickpocket incidents began to trend upward in 2021, with hundreds more incidents each year since than the previous year.
“We’re starting to see more organized units, families actually consisting of five or six cousins, conducting these searches across the city,” said NYPD Crime Prevention Chief Michael LiPetri.
The police department created a new pickpocket unit in 2022, which is based out of an office in the Midtown subway station.
But the Big Apple isn’t the only place seeing an uptick in pickpockets in the Empire State. In February, officials in neighboring Westchester County also report ABC7 notes an increase in crime.
The crime is so widespread that tourist websites warn visitors to New York that “pickpockets are quite common in New York City.”
website HolidayFor example, it advises that travellers should buy “anti-theft bags” and put valuables like wallets and keys in their front trouser pockets instead of the back. The site also advises that travellers should fasten their bags and purses and ensure that items do not spill out through folds or compartments.
Experts say elderly people and teenagers are the most vulnerable, but they also warn that pickpockets are crimes of opportunity and will target those who overlook their belongings.
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