NYC pickpockets target holiday crowds — and NYPD targets them; ‘Be aware and always try to hide your stuff’

Pickpockets are taking advantage of unsuspecting people in big holiday season crowds throughout the city, police officials warned Saturday.

While New Yorkers and tourists gathered to watch the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree light up in midtown on Wednesday night, the NYPD’s new Citywide Pickpocket Squad busted seven people for trying to lift cellphones and other belongings from distracted people in the crowd, cops said.

“Just be aware and always try to hide your stuff,” said Sgt. John Pritchard, a team leader. “Always try to keep your things in front of you…. You have to keep your head on a swivel at all times.”

Six of the thieves busted during Wednesday’s tree lighting worked in pairs to steal phones, Pritchard said. One member of each pickpocketing pair acts as a “blocker,” who distracts or interrupts the team’s target.

Then the second member of the pair goes for the goods, Pritchard explained.

Cops with their eyes peeled know what to look for in big crowds.

“We look for suspicious behavior,” Pritchard said.

In holiday crowds, people are looking at light, at shop windows, or trees. The pickpocket cops seek “people that are looking in other directions.”

They also look for people who seem to be deliberately getting too close other people.

“More importantly, you’re always watching hands,” Pritchard said.

After a while, Pritchard said, cops notice that the same people seem to be showing up in crowd.

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“That’s an indicator that maybe they’re not just a tourist that’s here to see the light show that only lasts three minutes. They’re there for two or three hours,” he said. “That’s the type of thing we look out for.”

“The way we operate our team is pretty free-flowing,” Pritchard said. “We usually try to stay in pairs of two or three, so we always have a partner with us. Everybody’s eyes are just always rotating and looking out for whatever suspicious activity is going on.”

“Pickpocketing is a crime of opportunity — so if they see something, they’re going to snatch it,” said Sgt. Kevin Kelly of the NYPD Crime Prevention Division. “If your phone is in your pocket and out of sight, out of mind, they’re going to keep it moving. They’re just looking for low-hanging fruit.”

Kelly urged people to simply “remove the opportunity” by keeping belongings nearby, zipped up and closed. He said the biggest mistake tourists make is “just getting swept up by the big city,” and not being alert to what’s going on around them.

Kyle and Kristen Cummings, a pair of visitors from Nashville, said that before they arrived they already knew they’d have to be careful.

“That’s the rumor — if you go to New York, you have to watch out,” said Kristen Cummings, who wore a pack under her coat, across her chest.

“My phone is my wallet, so everything is here — I put it in my front pocket,” said Kyle Cummings. “You just employ your street smarts. If something looks sketchy, stay away. Otherwise I feel good.”