Venetian gangs are grooming children to work as pickpockets as they strive to stop police crackdowns from eating into their profits, officials and activists have warned.
One of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, Venice has long been a hub of criminal activity that targets unsuspecting vacationers.
The scourge has led angry residents to form their own associations to publicise the identities of those caught in the act and work as volunteer informers for police.
A slew of videos posted on social media displays alleged pickpockets – usually teenage girls and, in some cases, pregnant women – attempting to conceal their faces as irate locals yell to attract attention to them.
Officials warn that legal loopholes already permit adult pickpockets, especially women, to operate with little regard for law enforcement.
Deputy Chief of the local police, Gianni Franzoi, told Secolo d’Italia: ‘There are now more female pickpockets, drawn to the city by a bubble of legal impunity…
‘(The law) stipulates, in addition to a formal complaint, the injured parties’ presence at the hearing,’ he said, explaining that in order for a pickpocket to be convicted, the victim must also attend the court date.
‘The victims are mostly foreigners, and they hardly ever come to the hearing. So, there are no trials and no convictions.’
But even amid an increased police presence and efforts by citizen activists to catch opportunists, those under the age of 14 cannot bear criminal responsibility. Gangs are thus stepping up efforts to recruit ‘baby borseggiatori’ – or baby pickpockets – into their ranks.
The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, has called for the current legal framework to be adjusted to give police and courts more capabilities to prosecute pickpockets.
‘We cannot resign ourselves to the normalisation of crimes that damage people’s lives and the city’s image on a daily basis,’ Brugnaro said last week.
‘We need urgent corrective measures. The government has to listen to local communities and guarantee urban security.’
Meanwhile, Monica Poli, spokesperson for the association Cittadini Non Distratti (Undistracted Citizens), denounced the involvement of children in criminal activities.
‘The problem is that there are many minors under 13, including girls (who are pickpockets).
‘What drives us forward is, above all, to defend the most vulnerable groups, namely the elderly and disabled, who are the preferred victims of these increasingly violent pickpockets, and we do so out of civic duty.’
Poli has become well-known on social media, especially TikTok, where she and other citizen activists frequently share footage of alleged pickpockets.
Her catchphrase ‘Attenzione, borseggiatori!’ (Attention, pickpockets!) went viral in 2023 and has been remixed into dance tracks and used to mock everyday scenarios, like animals trying to nibble their owners’ food.
Poli’s recent social media celebrity has helped raise awareness of the work she and her fellow volunteers have been doing since they began searching the streets for pickpockets almost thirty years ago.
Poli says that her group aims to protect tourists and raise awareness about pickpocketing in Venice, claiming her group protects US and UK tourists from being targeted.
‘I have been part of a group of disturbance against pickpockets for 30 years – together with 40 other people,’ she told Newsweek soon after erupting to social media notoriety.
‘People are pickpocketed for their American or English passport, then to return to their country, they have to go to the embassy in […] Rome.’
‘This incurs additional expenses for them, so it is better to prevent this by warning tourists of the problem.’
Poli claims she has never been asked to stop by police, but runs a physical risk for her actions, adding she was once attacked by a group of women who fell foul of her vigilantism.
In the meantime, Deputy Police Chief Franzoi laments that the rate of pickpocketing, which skyrocketed after the return of tourists following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, looks set to continue on its upward trajectory.
‘This year we’ve intercepted 100 pickpockets, including several minors,’ he told Italian media.
‘Another interesting statistic is the number of wallets found in St. Mark’s Square: we’ll reach 900 in 2025.’
Until legislation changes, officials note, individual victims and citizen activist organisations will continue to practise vigilante justice.
These circumstances have occasionally resulted in violent attacks, some of which are committed against defenceless onlookers who are thought to be robbers.
Last week, a 60-year-old German tourist was beaten by a pack of enraged locals and holidaymakers who had reacted to warnings that a Spanish family had just fallen foul of pickpocketing.
Others hurried in to encircle the elderly German after the Spaniard in question grabbed hold of him and pushed him against the wall.
He was ultimately pushed and hit several times as the gathering forced him to empty his pockets and open his bag before police arrived.
‘I arrived on vacation in Venice three days ago,’ he told police officers, according to Venezia Today. ‘I never expected something like this. I was attacked, beaten, and called a thief. Now I want to file a complaint against those who attacked me.’
Children have been used for pickpocketing for an extremely long time now. It’s nothing new.
It’s not just happening in Venice, though; it’s happening in places like Portugal and Bulgaria. The pickpockets stroll through busy areas, hopping on and off buses and trams as they pursue possible victims. They’re mainly young girls of approximately 14-15 years old who roam around in groups of three or so, and they make no effort to conceal their presence.
Dickens wrote about this kind of thing, in London, in the 1830s, in his novel, ‘Oliver Twist’, and it looks like we’re returning to those days too!
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