Italy: Tourists warned of pickpockets

Rome: As the summer tourist season in different Italian cities reaches its peak, travellers from around the world keep being warned of pickpockets.

Popular destinations in Italy, such as Venice, Rome, and Florence, have become hotspots for pickpockets, and for this reason, everyone has been called to remain vigilant so they do not fall prey to these incidents, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

As the Italian law enforcement authorities of Italy have explained, the number of reported pickpocketing cases has increased significantly this summer, leaving many tourists with a bad experience in the country.

The pickpockets, who, in most cases, work in organised groups, operate in areas with crowds, such as museums, public transport stations, and popular landmarks. They choose such places as they can easily blend in and snatch the belongings of tourists without being detected.

“Pickpockets will usually operate in shops, at tourist attractions and even on public transport when people are most likely to be standing still, distracted and paying less attention to their belongings,” co-founder of Raisin UK, Kevin Mountford said.

He further said that pickpockets use different tactics based on how crowded an area is and stressed that they often go undetected until it is too late.

In order to tackle the issue and protects visitors reaching Italy as well as the locals, the country’s authorities have said that they are cooperating with one another.

According to the authorities, the presence of police has increased in areas that are considered high-risk.

In addition to increasing the police presence, the authorities have also warned all visitors to keep their valuable belongings out of sight by using concealed pouches when possible.

Moreover, visitors have also been recommended to be wary of distractions that are created by pickpockets.

A visitor from Spain is one of the many who shared her bad experience while in Italy. She said that while she was admitting the Colosseum, someone bumped into her and before she realised her wallet was gone.

“It is a terrible feeling, and it ruined my trip,” the visitor from Spain said.

Others have also had similar experiences, and for this reason, Monica Poli decided to do something about this issue. Poli, who is a Lega Nord councillor in Venice as well as a 30-year member of the “undistracted citizens” group, has gone viral in TikTok for her videos calling out pickpockets.

On her official TikTok account with the username “cittadininondistratti2”, Poli spots pickpockets and then makes an announcement so everyone around is aware of the possible danger.