VENICE – An arrest isn’t enough, nor is a sentence – even teh most seasoned pickpockets remain active for years. Yesterday’s case is a prime example: the woman known as “Shakira,” one of the city’s most well-known and active bag snatchers,received a one-year sentence,but as it wasn’t definitive,she won’t be going to prison. Rather, she’ll face a milder measure like a ban on residing in Venice – a restriction that is frequently enough ignored by those who make a living through theft.
Twenty years old, born in Rome to Bosnian parents, Shakira has around sixty open criminal cases, most related to violations of restraining orders that prohibited her from remaining in certain areas. However, she was arrested in early august by the Local Police, thanks to the vigilance of officers, for violating a preventative measure ordered in February by the surveillance court.
It must be incredibly frustrating for police to see their daily efforts yield no lasting change. Purse-snatching groups don’t lose “soldiers” without definitive sentences, and even with residency restrictions or restraining orders, they continue to operate in Venice because the potential rewards are too great to ignore – despite the efforts of the Local Police, State Police, and Carabinieri.
“Reported by handbags for blocking them with your hands inside a tourist’s backpack.”