{"id":88556,"date":"2026-01-04T04:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T04:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88556\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T04:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T04:20:10","slug":"exclusive-you-gotta-have-your-head-on-a-swivel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88556\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | ‘You gotta have your head on a swivel’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NYPD positioned an electronic billboard truck in front of Radio City Music Hall on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Friday night that screamed: \u201cBeware of pickpockets,\u201d photos provided to the The Post show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pickpocketing is a known problem in crowded tourist areas like Times Square<\/a>, Bryant Park, and near Rockefeller Center. To deal with the crime, the NYPD even has a dedicated plainclothes \u201cpickpocket unit\u201d that specifically patrols hotspots to catch thieves in the act.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NYPD\u2019s 18th Precinct, which includes Radio City, saw a decline in overall crime so far this year. And petit larceny, which includes pickpocketing and retail theft, is down 18% \u2014 from 3,036 to 2,486 \u2014 compared with same period last year, an NYPD spokesman said.<\/p>\n

The number of robberies, which include force or intimidation, in the precinct have increased by 9% to 248 so far this year, up from 228 at the same point last year, according to NYPD data. But the precinct saw a substantial decrease in the crime during the 28-day period through Dec. 28, the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

The NYPD had an electronic billboard warning of the crime at Radio City in Midtown Friday night. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n

The NYPD\u2019s sign blared: \u201cBeware of pickpockets.\u201d Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the result of thorough police work and relentless follow-up by personnel from Midtown North precinct,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

Robberies spiked earlier this year due to the large influx of temporary migrant housing in the area and has since mostly recovered, a police source said.<\/p>\n

Pickpocketing<\/a> is \u201ceasy because, especially as women, we show our things sometimes, instead of keeping it in certain spots,\u201d said Beverly Paterson, 77, patting her chest and adding that \u201ceverything is right here, even though I got a backpack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In response to the Big Apple\u2019s pickpocketing dilemna, the retired teacher originally from Georgia who now lives in the Bronx emphasized caution, especially during the holidays and in the more touristy<\/a> areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The crowds around tourist areas attract pickpockets. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cThis city is very big and you have to be careful about who you meet, where you\u2019re at, and everything,\u201d said Paterson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always have something to defend myself with \u2026 you see this man right here?\u201d she said, gesturing to her cane. \u201cIt can be used as a weapon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Retired defense industry employee Bob Kuppelmeyer, 64, was waiting for his son and his girlfriend outside of Radio City and noted that \u201ca lot of people are naive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robberies are up around Radio City Music Hall so far this year, but petit larceny, which includes pickpocketing, is down, according to NYPD data. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople should be very wary about what\u2019s going on around here, you know, there\u2019s a lot of scammers and you gotta have your head on a swivel,\u201d said Kuppelmeyer, who grew up in Richmond Hill, Queens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kuppelmeyer, who now lives in Long Island, believes that the scammers \u201cgo after guests from other cities and countries because they might think this is Utopia.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wallet has always been in my front pocket, never been in my back pocket, since I\u2019ve been 18,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One tourist said she saw the NYPD\u2019s billboard on Friday night and reflected on the pickpocketing probem in France. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIn New York, you have to just watch who you are, where you are, who you\u2019re with and crowds \u2014 and hands,\u201d said Bay Ridge resident Peter Talocci, who was at the entertainment venue Saturday. \u201cThese guys are good, and girls, they\u2019re really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the slick moving thieves have to do is \u201cbrush up against you and they know so fast: pocketbooks, open pockets, cash, watches \u2026 they\u2019re fast \u2014 very fast,\u201d said Talocci, who works at the Brooklyn Justice Initiative.<\/p>\n

Baltimore-area resident Ella Worstell, 17, said she saw the NYPD sign Friday night on her way to see the show Heathers off Broadway with friends.<\/p>\n

The NYPD has a special unit to investigate pickpocketing that tries to catch perps in the act. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

Seeing the sign was funny to her because she had just spent a Euro summer in France where pickpocketing is \u201creally big,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were talking about how it\u2019s not talked about in the US, and then we saw the sign and it was really funny and ironic,\u201d Worstell said.<\/p>\n

The teen learned a hack overseas and now hides her crossbody purse under her coat, she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NYPD positioned an electronic billboard truck in front of Radio City Music Hall on Sixth Avenue in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[303,57,9,11,10,103,5358,6315,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-88556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-news","13":"tag-nypd","14":"tag-radio-city-music-hall","15":"tag-tourism","16":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}