Thieves lick their chops, anticipating easy pickings

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:15 a.m.

Boxing fans are looking forward to Mike Tyson's return to the ring Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

So are pickpockets.

"We expect an influx," Metro Police Sgt. Shane Robb, head of the department's Tourist Safety Unit, says.

While Tyson is fighting Frans Botha in the ring, a dozen plainclothes officers will be on special duty fighting the anticipated gangs of pickpockets who typically target congested events such as major prize fights, where there are a lot of high-rollers carrying large sums of cash.

Special plans for the Tyson fight also include having other detectives on call for such anticipated crimes as forgery and credit-card fraud.

"At prize fights, a lot of money is being carried and people are stacked in lines in close proximity to each other. It's not uncommon for you to be touched," Robb said.

And being touched may mean the loss of a wallet or other valuables.

To focus on such crimes, Metro created the Tourist Safety Unit three years ago. Five detectives and a sergeant work theft crimes directed at the more than 30 million tourists who come here each year.

By far the largest crime against tourists is larceny, which includes pickpockets, purse snatchers and money grabbers who distract a victim long enough to take buckets of money filled with coins.

In 1997, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 3,344 crimes reported against non-Nevadans on the Strip, a decline from 1996 when there were 3,547 reports.

"The chances of somebody coming to Las Vegas and becoming a (theft) victim is 1 percent of 1 percent. That's one-one hundredth of a percent," Robb said.

However, he said, that's no consolation to someone who is a victim.

Surprisingly, Robb said, pickpockets are not as big a problem as one might think -- even on crowded events such as New Year's Eve. They are simply a persistent problem. "To tell the truth it's not a big problem on New Year's," Robb said. "The numbers will go up, but not drastically."

Of all the types of larceny, the most prevalent is the "distract" theft, during which a thief or a group of thieves divert a victim's attention long enough to steal an individual's property, whether by picking a pocket or grabbing a jackpot. "We'll get two to seven or eight on a weekend night," Robb said of distract crimes. "Sometimes, on a busy night, we can have a dozen or 15."

Some of the "distract" thieves work alone, others in groups.

"They target mostly females, where they can get into a purse," Robb said, "or elderly men."

Elderly men tend to wear loose-fitting pants, which makes it easier for their pockets to be picked. Elderly people also are targeted because there is less chance of an altercation, Robb said.

Robb described a typical robbery by distraction. "A team will work an escalator," he said. "They will pick out a victim. One of the team will go ahead of him, another will go behind him.

"As they get off the escalator the first guy will stall. He will drop something and bend over and the victim has to step back to avoid the distractor."

When the victim backs up he makes contact with the second member of the team.

"Since the victim causes the contact, he doesn't feel anything out of the ordinary is happening, but the guy (behind him) is picking his pocket," Robb said.

Distract crimes can be lucrative, but run-of-the-mill picking of pockets usually is not, Robb said.

Robb described many pickpockets as "low-level opportunists" who typically may get between $20 and $500 for their trouble.

Because of the nature of the crime, one that takes place in large crowds, it is difficult to get good descriptions of suspects.

"The victims don't know immediately it has occurred," Robb said.

Video surveillance cameras play a big role in identifying the thieves.

"Our best friend in this is the videos in the hotels," Robb said.

To deter pickpockets and similar crimes, Robb said officers in his unit frequently dress in plain clothes and hang out where the thieves are most likely to be found.

Though officers occasionally conduct sting operations, in which they set themselves up to appear as an easy victim, they more often mingle with crowds and try to catch thieves in the act. "That way, there's no doubt when we go to court as to entrapment," Robb said.

He said one of the most important roles his unit plays, even more important than the undercover operations, is training security officers on the Strip.

An estimated 3,000 security officers work at Strip resorts, compared with a handful of police officers. Metro uses that force to leverage protection along the Strip.

"Surveillance in these hotels is outstanding," Robb said. "The people really know their business, which keeps the problem to a minimum. Security departments in the hotels are responsible for most of your prevention."