Picking Norway’s Pocket

A brief note from our Norwegian correspondent The Observer:

I’ve translated a few paragraphs from this article which was published in today’s edition of Aftenposten. It deals with the growing number of pick-pocketing incidents in Oslo. The article reveals that the people carrying out these thefts are for the most part members of organized crime gangs from Poland, Romania and North Africa, but that even some ethnic Norwegians engage in these types of activities.

Has multiculturalism been an enormous success story for Norway, or what?

The excerpts from Aftenposten:

51 incidents of pick-pocketing in Oslo each day

While the police have been busy establishing a special task force to prevent pick-pocketing, the number of such incidents has increased by 45 percent. The police are now promising to crack down on these types of theft.

In the first quarter of 2012 the number of pick-pocketing incidents has increased by 45 percent. This equates to 51 incidents every day. If current trends continue one could end up with almost 20,000 cases of pick pocketing by the end of the year.