Pickpockets | On the Rise

It's three a.m. and Liv Fleischhacker is standing in the middle of Warschauer Brücke looking for a bar. They seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere and since Liv's iPhone is brand new, it takes her a couple of minutes before she remembers that she can use the google maps function on her phone to check out the way to the bar. It's crowded on the bridge that leads from Friedrichshain to Kreuzberg, people are boozing, jostling each other, dancing around and saluting the night in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

In the midst of it all, Liv is trying to hold her cell phone like a map to figure out the way to the bar. What happens next happens within the blink of an eye. A group of six boys walk by, one of them rips the phone out of Liv's hand. It has disappeared within seconds. Liv screams at the boys, who casually stand around like nothing's happened until the police arrive and two of them suddenly break into a run. Liv and her friend get into the police car and follow the pickpockets down Warschauer Straße up to the O2 arena, but they lose their suspects somewhere along the way after they've disappeared into the bushes.

Stories like these have been on the rise in Berlin. While it was well known that pickpocketing and petty crimes are common in the tourist centers of Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam, things had largely remained quiet here. But lately, you'll find notices hanging in Kreuzberg's bars and cafés that warn customers about leaving their jackets hung over the backs of their chairs or their purses on the tables.

Berlin is the new Barcelona, at least when measuring its increasing popularity with tourists. Partygoers stream into Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln with full pockets and too little time to press charges after they've been robbed. While theft offences had statistically increased by 11 percent in 2010, the first 10 months of this year have already shown an even steeper rise of 17 per cent. Despite these numbers, the police assume that the number of unreported cases are especially high with pickpocketing and that the increasing number of tourists provides more opportunities for thieves, generally boosting the upsurge. Besides typical tourist attractions, the police warns about pickpocketing especially on the U6, 7 and 9 subway lines.

But it's no secret that drug-related petty crimes have been plagueing the area around Kottbusser Tor – which is also a nightlife hub – for years. Popular Bars on Oranienstraße, like Bierhimmel or Bateau Ivre have been dealing with pickpockets off and on for decades. And it shouldn't be disregarded that even five years ago, Neukölln was labeled a „no go area“ due to crime and poverty. People tend to wrongfully assume that with ongoing gentrification, crime will just sort of disappear on its own.

But even if we take all the classic precautions – never leave your valuables out of sight and keep all zippers closed – it's hard to prevent a situation like Liv's. “You always think you can avoid it, but it just happens too fast. And you also feel kind of violated after something like that happens to you.” Besides the old jostling, map or money changing tricks, Berlin's pickpockets like to travel less conventional roads with maneuvers like the “Hochhebe Trick” - where thieves will propose to estimate a person's weight at a bar or café by picking them up and having a complice steal their wallets in the meantime - or the “Beschmutzungstrick”, where the thief purposely spills something on their victim's clothes to distract them.

(gl)