Security issue: Pickpocketing
Pickpocketing is a form of theft that involves the stealing of valuables from a victim without their noticing the theft at the time.
Contents
Description
Pickpocketing is a issue that is especially present in large cities, where crowds of people are omnipresent and distractions are plentiful. Pickpockets may be found in any crowded place around the world. However, Barcelona and Rome were recently singled out as being particularly dangerous pickpocket havens.[1][2][3]
Attributing circumstances
Some areas are very tempting for pickpockets, so you should be especially careful when you are in the following places:
- Public realm - urban square and parks
- Outdoor activities and shows
- Public markets
- Waiting lines
- Traffic lights
- Escalators
- Rush hour in public transit
- Food courts
- Major public parking lots
The most significant factor in the victim profile possibly may be psychological. A crowded terminal creates a distracting environment. People are packed together in cramped waiting areas listening for public announcements, watching a departure, carrying packages, or talking on a cellular telephone. The station's environment creates a sensory overload. Further, the victims, conditioned by the rush hour atmosphere of the station, are accustomed to the close physical proximity of other people. Those who use mass transit expect to be bumped and jostled. The victim also expects to have even less personal space when descending the escalators and riding the train, focusing more on boarding the train and finding a seat than being concerned with others.[4]
Impacts
- perception of unsafety
Economic impact
Property crimes such as pickpocketing lead to considerable costs in both a direct (primary) and a indirect (secondary) way[5]. Direct costs of pickpocketing come in the form of:
- Preventive costs in anticipation of pickpocketing (e.g. security measures, prevention, insurance fees);
- Material and immaterial costs as a consequence of pickpocketing (e.g. physical damage, repairs, mental harm); and
- Responsive costs to pickpocketing (e.g. the costs of detection and prevention, persecution, support trial, etc.).
In addition, pickpocketing on a large scale could lead to secondary economic impact, but these effects are relatively minor compared to more serious types of crime.
Measures
Footnotes and references
- ↑ "Barcelona, pickpocket capital of the world ", The Daily Mail, September 25, 2009
- ↑ "Italy - #1 for Pickpockets", WorldNomads.com, October 20, 2011
- ↑ "TRIPADVISOR POINTS OUT TOP 10 PLACES WORLDWIDE TO BEWARE PICKPOCKETS", TripAdvisor, September 10, 2009
- ↑ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_12_72/ai_112799969/
- ↑ Primary economic impact (or direct effects) are generally defined as the initial, immediate economic output generated by a specific cause (in this case a criminal offence). Secondary economic impact (or indirect effects) are generated each time a subsequent transaction is made, for example, the impact of crime on the real estate value in the neighbourhood.
