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Comment by caturopath | Hacker News Reader

May I ask why you don't want to use a phone? You don't want to carry/look at it for the other stuff that a phone has?

Phones are generally too bulky for my liking. I prefer to have something simple and light. And I care way less if it's stolen or lost.

Is pickpocketing still a thing? My perception is that between wallets full of plastic and phones that can be remotely locked, it has almost completely disappeared. I remember being told to be wary in crowded places as a kid, but nowadays I'm very careless and nothing happens.

Bike thefts though, they are a serious issue that I plan my life around.

Note that crime in the US overall has gone wayyyy down since you were likely a kid. We're at Leave It To Beaver levels.

And yet a lot of people think that it's gone up because of skewed reporting.

Depends on the state where you live. If you live in New Mexico it doesn't matter if the crime rate in Mew York goes down. https://www.safehome.org/resources/crime-statistics-by-state...

Overall yes, single states no. https://www.safehome.org/resources/crime-statistics-by-state...

You should try to find something more .gov to link to for statistics, rather than a PR company that flogs home security systems and devices.

How about this, from the Portland, Oregon police dept .gov domain: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/81203

   January 2019,  32 shootings
   January 2020,  50 shootings
   January 2021, 104 shootings

Lots of restless gang-bangers in Portland.

It doesn't help that Portland de-funded the gang enforcement team a while ago. It also doesn't help that some are agitating to abolish the police entirely.

Now Portland is making a big deal of getting FBI and state help to deal with this growing problem.

Yes, it's an anecdote, but you can find many similar anecdotes from all around the country.

If your of an older demographic, that may potentially have a wad of cash, pickpocketing is still very much a problem. Especially in tourist spots.

Oddly the Vatican has a high crime rate because of this

In 2019, I had my phone and wallet stolen in Barcelona via pickpocketing. I know of someone who had their wallet stolen in the Madrid subway the same way. I’ve not heard of it recently in the US though.

The wallets full of plastic remark doesn't really apply in Spain, where tons more people carry real amounts of cash.

Lol you have never been to Barcelona I gather. Pickpocketing is a huge business here. I say business because Spanish law doesn't allow to prosecute them (only fines for thefts up to €400) so lots of scumbags basically make it their job.

When my wallet was pickpocketed I searched the bins in the nearby metro stations and found 6 wallets with ID cards etc and many phone cases (a stolen phone is much less identifiable without its case). Sadly I never found mine. I live here so I'm used to it but even then they can catch you off-guard.

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