Amsterdam police arrest 14 pickpockets at Gay Pride

The police arrested 14 pickpockets from Poland, Romania and the Netherlands during the Amsterdam Gay Pride, which took place between July 25th and August 2nd this year. So far 155 people reported a pickpocket crime during that week. Last year 19 pickpockets were arrested during Gay Pride and 180 people reported a crime. Although the number of this year's pickpocket crime during the events may still rise due to people reporting crimes late, the police are cautiously announcing that the number of victims has decreased compared to last year, even though this year was much busier. Dozens of police officers were on the lookout for pickpockets in the Amsterdam city center during Gay Pride, paying special attention to locations where pickpockets struck last year. During the boat parade on Saturday, the police deployed extra officers to immediately respond to reports. One victim who came to the police on Saturday had a Find my phone app installed on his cellphone and the police were quickly able to find the perpetrator. The pickpocket had five phones on his person - all of which have been returned to their rightful owners. Another suspect was arrested with seven phones. The police are urging victims whose phones were stolen to report the crime so that the devices can be returned. Last year the police noticed that the pickpocket suspects were of various nationalities, which seemed to indicate the existence of itinerant groups visiting different country. For this reason the police worked with international cooperation, including two Romanian officers, during this year's Gay Pride. Once a suspect was arrested, information specialists checked the international police systems to see if the suspect has previously been convicted of a similar crime or is wanted in another country.