(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) As soft-on-crime, partisan prosecutors like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg focus attention and resources on the political persecution of Donald Trump and advancing so-called criminal justice reform, real criminals are redoubling their efforts to make Americans more fearful and less safe.
An emerging trend of old-school street crimes making a resurgence with new twists, combined with tech-savvy innovations, has increasingly made everyday activities a safety and security risk, Fox News Digital reported.
“What’s old is new. It’s like pickpockets. They’ve been around forever, but they’re coming up with new ways to be able to engage folks to steal property,” said Kevin Coffey, a travel risk trainer and consultant who was a 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The catch-and-release criminal justice system fostered by activist DAs, funded in large part by billionaire, radical leftist George Soros, makes the risk of being caught a non-factor for criminals and gangs looking to make a quick buck.
“Most of them want an easy way to grab a purse, a wallet or a phone. They don’t want to engage in violence. They want to grab something and run,” Coffey said.
One of the more prevalent trends making a resurgence is so-called “jugging,” when thieves stake out parking lots of malls, stores and banks, robbing unsuspecting victims while they’re distracted fumbling with keys or bags.
While jugging incidents are typically for quick scores with no injuries, they can quickly turn deadly, law enforcement warned. A “jugging” in Houston left a woman paralyzed as a result of the violent robbery of cash that she had withdrawn from a bank. Two teens were arrested Monday in connection to the incident.
Similar cases have spiked over the last few months in four major regions, “including northwest states like Idaho and Washington, in and around southern states like Texas, as well as northeastern and southeastern states like Florida and New York,” Fox reported.
In tandem with “jugging” cases, law enforcement has seen increases in so-called “tap and glue” crimes and “slider” cases.
Criminals stuff glue or cardboard into ATM machines to facilitate the “tap and glue” scheme, Coffey said, and pose as innocent bystanders to offer “advice” to frustrated customers, suggesting to use the machine’s tap feature.
“If you get your cash and leave without ending the transaction, the thief that’s using the ATM next to you and pretending to be a regular customer shifts over to your ATM when your back is turned, withdraws the max and disappears,” Coffey said.
The resurgence of “sliders” also uses distraction and disorientation as a means to a nefarious end.
“A woman pulls up to the gas pump, sometimes she has her credit card out of her wallet, and the purse is on the passenger seat and her back is to the car. She didn’t hit the lock button, so the passenger door is unlocked,” Coffey said, setting the stage for a typical “slide.”
A pair of criminals pull alongside the target car, one “slides” to the far passenger side, grabbing the target’s purse as the car moves away from the scene before anybody notices what happened.
Coffey said “always be aware of your surroundings,” is a good advice to follow in response to the wave of street crime.
“It’s situational awareness,” Coffey said. “Whenever someone approaches, be asking yourself why? Why are they engaging me? Are they trying to divert attention to pickpocket me or do they actually want to have a conversation?”
