Marguerite Scotti, a senior majoring in communications, was cautious while going to Jameson’s Pub last month because she knew there had been high levels of pickpocketing at bars in Santa Monica. 

She zipped up her purse and checked for her possessions throughout the night, but Scotti later discovered that her wallet had been stolen. She contacted workers at the bar, but they were unable to return her wallet.

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Pickpocketing has more than doubled in Santa Monica between January and August, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. SMPD recorded 115 pickpocketing crimes during this period — higher than the previous four years combined. 

Scotti said her experience in Santa Monica has made her wary of returning to the area where her possessions were stolen.

“I was just really upset and frustrated because, at that point, there’s just nothing you can do about it,” Scotti said. “I’m not gonna go back there just because I’m worried that my wallet could get taken again.”

According to the SMPD, the majority of incidents involve cell phones stolen from victims at local bars. Lt. Erika Aklufi said police officials are unsure of the reasons behind the rise in pickpocketing crimes.

“It’s usually places where alcohol is being served,” Aklufi said. “They’re not doing a great job of paying attention to their belongings, so it makes a really easy target-rich environment if somebody wants to come in and pickpocket.”

The Victorian, a local restaurant and bar in Santa Monica, has reported an increase in pickpocketing in line with a rise in crime in Santa Monica, said Mallory Molinski, the restaurant’s publicist. To combat pickpocketing, The Victorian has increased security and coordinated multiple undercover police sting operations during the establishment’s busiest times. Molinski said that the sting operations have caught several offenders at the establishment.

“In [Los Angeles] it’s a problem in general — just the increase in crime,” Molinski said. “So they’re doing their best to keep everybody safe. We know a lot of USC students come out there.”

The Los Angeles Police Department has also reported an increase in pickpocketing crimes this year. There were 1,093 pickpocketing crimes in 2023, a 27% increase from the same period last year. 

Aklufi said the SMPD has conducted multiple undercover sting operations in bars and restaurants that have a high rate of pickpocketing crimes. Preventative measures are often difficult to coordinate, she said, because the police are unsure when and where a team of pickpockets might strike.

Pickpocketing crimes are often perpetrated by teams of people collaborating to steal valuables from multiple victims, Aklufi said. Many pickpocketing teams use Faraday bags — designed to block radio waves, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth from phones — to prevent victims from tracking their devices once stolen, she said. In one operation this summer, the SMPD found a vehicle with a Faraday bag containing about 25 phones stolen from bars that day. 

“These guys, they’re the pros, they know what they’re going to do with them when they steal them. If they’re wandering around with Faraday bags, it’s probably going to be a pretty slick operation,” Aklufi said. “More often than not, we’re unfortunately not going to be able to recover it.”

Aklufi encourages proactive personal responsibility, such as not leaving possessions accessible, as once a possession is stolen, it is unlikely for the police or the victim to retrieve it. 

“Most victims are not going to end up getting their stuff back. So, making sure it doesn’t happen in the first place is always the best line of defense,” Aklufi said.