Police record more than twice as much pickpocketing as last year | NOW

Now that most corona measures have been released, pickpockets see plenty of opportunity to strike again. Until May, the police registered more than twice as many victims this year compared to the same period last year. In addition, the number of thefts last May was the highest since the start of the corona crisis. This is apparent from an analysis of police figures by ANP/LocalFocus†

This year it has hit almost 3700 times so far. In the same period last year, pickpockets struck slightly more than 1,600 times. That equates to an increase of 130 percent. However, the number of thefts is still lower compared to the same period in 2019, the last year before the corona crisis.

The corona measures of recent years have had a major effect on the number of cases of pickpocketing, police say. “If there are no people on the street and a distance of one and a half meters has to be kept, there is little to pickpocket. With the release of the measures, the number of cases of pickpocketing will increase again.”

The police recorded an increase in pickpockets in all provinces this year. In Groningen the figure has quadrupled, in Limburg and Noord-Holland it has tripled. In cities such as Breda, Maastricht and Groningen it is even a fivefold increase. But although these are significant increases, the numbers in these cities are still at or below the figures from 2019.

Pickpockets mainly strike in the big cities, especially in Amsterdam. Nearly one in three thefts took place in the capital. That number also tripled compared to the beginning of last year.