Police said at the meeting that that they had identified 4 female suspects and issued arrest warrants for them.
NEW ORLEANS – During this week’s NOPD Eighth District meeting, Captain Lejon Roberts issued a warning to visitors and residents of the French Quarter – they’re seeing an increase in property thefts.
Police say the suspects steal cell phones and send money to one another. They also received reports of wallet thefts.
The eighth arrondissement includes the French Quarter. Glade Bilby, president of the French Quarter Citizens, attended the Eighth Ward meeting.
“We are always concerned about the safety of visitors and residents, and I think what really stands out was the amount of pickpocketing that was evident from the numbers,” Bilby said.
Thefts in the Eighth District have increased nearly 70 percent since the starting of the 12 months, with nearly 44 percent of those incidents occurring on Bourbon Street, based on NOPD.
“It’s a lot. It’s a really, really big jump,” Roberts said at the meeting.
Bilby said police told residents the numbers reflected a post-Carnival spike, when visitors reported thefts online after the fact.
“So the numbers have obviously gone up,” Bilby said.
Police said at the meeting that that they had identified 4 female suspects and issued arrest warrants for them.
Police say some of the women are from out of state and “prey on victims” on and around Bourbon Street, sometimes luring them back to hotels.
“If you’re looking for the wrong thing, you’ll find it 9 times out of 10,” Roberts said. “It’s mostly sexual offers that end in failure.”
Bilby said he is grateful that police are being attentive to the statistics and doing what they will to forestall this from happening.
“When that happens, it makes it a little more difficult to detect pickpocketing,” Bilby said.
The Eighth Circuit reports that over the past 12 months, auto thefts have dropped 15 percent and auto burglaries have dropped 46 percent.
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