The height of tourist season is prime time for pickpocketing in Copenhagen.
Over the past several years, the Danish capital has seen a sharp increase in pickpocketing and other theft.
According to the Copenhagen Police, the number of reported thefts rose from 20,525 in 2010 to 29,724 in 2013. And although police say that 2014 numbers are down by 14 percent from last year, pickpocketing is still a major problem.
“Those figures are way too high and we will not accept it,” inspector Jan Bjørn told Berlingske. “But we can’t control the influx of the masterminds, so it is a very very difficult battle.”
Copenhagen Police created a special unit last year to battle the growing pickpocketing problem, which they say stems from organized criminals from eastern Europe and Africa.
The police said that a foreigner was charged in nine out of every ten pickpocketing citations filed in 2013.
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