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Police list worst pickpocketing areas in Taipei

As Universiade nears, Taipei police list the major areas to be on the lookout for pickpockets in Taipei

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Pickpocket warning sign.

Pickpocket warning sign. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- As the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade nears, Taipei police have published a list of some of the main areas in the city where the majority of pickpocketing crimes have been reported.

Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of Taipei City Police Department on July 21 said that it is launching an operation to combat pickpocketing in tourism hot spots such as Taipei 101 and Ningxia Night Market and will be posting posters in Chinese, English and Japanese warning tourists of the danger of such thieves.

The CID said to coincide with the Summer Universiade, the police have launched a campaign to crack down on pickpockets from May 26 to August 31.

After analyzing pickpocketing patterns around the city, they have identified a number of vulnerable locations, including the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, Martyrs' Shrine, Ningxia Night Market, Shilin Night Market, Raohe Night Market, and Yongkang Street, among others. Police have dispatched additional officers to these locations to watch for thieves and are taking efforts to increase public awareness of the problem.

Police list worst pickpocketing areas in Taipei
Pickpocketing awareness poster created by National Police Agency.

The public information posters being distributed which remind visitors to pay attention to their personal belongings, list situations in which pickpockets are more likely to be operating, and provides a link to a website to report a lost or stolen item.

Out of 39 recently reported pickpocketing cases, 42 suspects were involved, including 19 Taiwanese, 6 Vietnamese, 6 Koreans, 6 Chinese, and 5 Mongolians, with the percentage of suspects who were foreign standing at 55 percent, according to CID data.

Although the recent campaign aimed at busting pickpocketing rings of foreign thieves posing as tourists has had some effect, police say that pickpockets will continue to try to target crowded shopping areas to bump into their victims and block their line of sight with their hands, newspapers, magazines, umbrellas, and clothing, as they pilfer their victims' belongings.

City police emphasized the the public should vigilant when in crowded areas and guard their backpacks, purses, and wallets at all times. If a member of the public spots a suspicious person or wants to report a theft, they asked to call 110 (Police hotline).