The insecurity on Paris public transport is no longer an issue to debate, but a fact. On Sunday, March 31, the police prefecture confirmed a rise in crime of 33 percent on the rails of the capital, reported Le Parisien.
Indeed, pickpockets are becoming a headache on the metro. Organised in groups, young women or girls, for the most part, merge with the passengers of crowded trains while pretending to look at the metro map between two stations.
In groups of five or even ten, teenage girls, often from Romania, work for highly structured networks, explained the daily newspaper. They are easily recognisable with their large bags, used to carry the fruit of their ill endeavours.
These thieves target the “good” customers and their mode of operation is always the same: After spotting the most vulnerable targets, they stick to them and exit just before the doors close. Sometimes they jostle the travelers coming out of the train.
The regulars on the Parisian transport system do not let themselves be exploited by the pushing malicious passengers, but the tourists are often less prudent, and remain the priority target of the pickpockets.
“They [the tourists] come all the time to see us, but are reluctant to complain, because they do not want to waste time, so we write up reports,” said a RATP employee in Paris.
“We call the police to intervene, but as thieves know their rights perfectly, they say they are minors and are released within 15 minutes,” lamented another employee who also complained about having “already been threatened with death”.
He added: “They come back to insult us, because they’ve been wasting their time.”
For locals, it has become routine. “When I know they are in the wagon, I stick as close to the doors as possible. That way, nobody can pass behind me,” says Vincent, who works near Bir-Hakeim station, one of the favorite stations for pickpockets because of its very touristy location.
Valérie, another regular, “avoids the worst to ride in the same wagon as they are”. Charles once preferred to get off the train when he noticed that he was surrounded by twelve of them. “I realised it was not a school trip,” he says ironically before continuing: “I had my phone in my pocket, I was worried. It’s stupid but one is forced to become suspicious.”
Last year, the RATP even launched a new procedure for foreign tourists which “aims to facilitate and speed up victims’ process” to help them to apply for their insurance more quickly.
Through the new system, victims will be able to report thefts directly through the RATP at six stations in the French capital where a member of staff will help them to fill out a form available in English. The form is then sent directly to the police.
The metro stations that see huge numbers of tourists pass through have been chosen for the trial. They are Franklin Roosevelt, Anvers, Saint-Michel-Notre Dame, Opera, Hotel de Ville and Charles de Gaulle-Etoile.