Pickpockets from Central, South America using kids to target unsuspecting tourists in Times SquareBy Tina Moore
Published Sep. 9, 2023
Crews of migrants have been using children as decoys to pickpocket unsuspecting tourists in Times Square, The Post has learned.
The area — from Sixth to Eighth Avenues between West 42nd and West 49th Streets — has seen the number of pickpocket complaints skyrocket 222% — to 187 so far this year from 58 in the same span in 2022, NYPD data show.
“You can’t have this,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. “People are going to go back to wherever they came from and say, ‘I spent half my trip canceling my credit cards.’”
When they are arrested, the pickpockets tell cops they are from Central and South America, police said.
It’s not clear if they are among 110,000 or so asylum seekers who have arrived in the city over the past year because cops are barred from seeking immigration status.
Police Officer Joe Soldano, a Pickpocket Squad leader, said some of the thieves use children, even infants, to distract the tourists while they ply their trade.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/09/09/nypd-squad-combats-migrant-pickpockets-nypd/
