Exclusive | Cops blare warning of sticky finger thieves in jam-packed NYC areas

The NYPD positioned an electronic billboard truck in front of Radio City Music Hall on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Friday night that screamed: “Beware of pickpockets,” photos provided to the The Post show. 

Pickpocketing is a known problem in crowded tourist areas like Times Square, Bryant Park, and near Rockefeller Center. To deal with the crime, the NYPD even has a dedicated plainclothes “pickpocket unit” that specifically patrols hotspots to catch thieves in the act. 

The NYPD’s 18th Precinct, which includes Radio City, saw a decline in overall crime so far this year. And petit larceny, which includes pickpocketing and retail theft, is down 18% — from 3,036 to 2,486 — compared with same period last year, an NYPD spokesman said.

The number of robberies, which include force or intimidation, in the precinct have increased by 9% to 248 so far this year, up from 228 at the same point last year, according to NYPD data. But the precinct saw a substantial decrease in the crime during the 28-day period through Dec. 28, the spokesman said.

“This is the result of thorough police work and relentless follow-up by personnel from Midtown North precinct,” the spokesman said.

Robberies spiked earlier this year due to the large influx of temporary migrant housing in the area and has since mostly recovered, a police source said.

Pickpocketing is “easy because, especially as women, we show our things sometimes, instead of keeping it in certain spots,” said Beverly Paterson, 77, patting her chest and adding that “everything is right here, even though I got a backpack.” 

In response to the Big Apple’s pickpocketing dilemna, the retired teacher originally from Georgia who now lives in the Bronx emphasized caution, especially during the holidays and in the more touristy areas. 

“This city is very big and you have to be careful about who you meet, where you’re at, and everything,” said Paterson. 

“I always have something to defend myself with … you see this man right here?” she said, gesturing to her cane. “It can be used as a weapon.” 

Retired defense industry employee Bob Kuppelmeyer, 64, was waiting for his son and his girlfriend outside of Radio City and noted that “a lot of people are naive.” 

“People should be very wary about what’s going on around here, you know, there’s a lot of scammers and you gotta have your head on a swivel,” said Kuppelmeyer, who grew up in Richmond Hill, Queens.  

Kuppelmeyer, who now lives in Long Island, believes that the scammers “go after guests from other cities and countries because they might think this is Utopia.”  

“My wallet has always been in my front pocket, never been in my back pocket, since I’ve been 18,” he said. 

“In New York, you have to just watch who you are, where you are, who you’re with and crowds — and hands,” said Bay Ridge resident Peter Talocci, who was at the entertainment venue Saturday. “These guys are good, and girls, they’re really good.”

All the slick moving thieves have to do is “brush up against you and they know so fast: pocketbooks, open pockets, cash, watches … they’re fast — very fast,” said Talocci, who works at the Brooklyn Justice Initiative.

Baltimore-area resident Ella Worstell, 17, said she saw the NYPD sign Friday night on her way to see the show Heathers off Broadway with friends.

Seeing the sign was funny to her because she had just spent a Euro summer in France where pickpocketing is “really big,” she said.

“We were talking about how it’s not talked about in the US, and then we saw the sign and it was really funny and ironic,” Worstell said.

The teen learned a hack overseas and now hides her crossbody purse under her coat, she added.