Police in the Danish capital Copenhagen have warned locals and tourists that the number of pickpockets in the city is on the rise.
Police have revealed that more thieves from Eastern Europe are heading to the city than ever before, noting that the number of luggage thefts, stealing and pickpocketing instances that have been recorded at cafés and restaurants in recent years has risen.
In 2013, 29,724 robbery reports were recorded, in comparison to 20,525 in 2010. This resulted in Copenhagen Police putting a special task force in place to deal with the issue. Police spokesman Jan Bjorn described the numbers as “way too high” and said they could not accept such a development. However, he acknowledged that they couldn’t control the number of thieves who arrive in Copenhagen, so accepted that it was a “tough battle”.
In the first five months of the year, police curbed the upward trend, but the summer months are regarded as the biggest challenge. The majority of robberies and thefts are carried out by asylum seekers from North Africa and Eastern European criminals.
Bjorn explained that Eastern Europeans, particularly Romanians, tended to be responsible for the daytime crime, while asylum seekers from northern Africa generally were more active in the night time.