Paris: Crime in tourist zones drop after police reinforcements, increased video surveillance

PARIS – Authorities in Paris say crime against tourists in the city, famed for its monuments and troubled by petty theft, appears to be dropping after a reinforced police presence and increased video surveillance.

The city said violent theft was down 25 per cent and pickpocketing was down 23 per cent in the first four months of 2015, compared with the same period last year. In addition to an increased police presence intended to protect tourists against petty crime, Paris has overall ratcheted up security since the January attacks against the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket left 20 people dead, including the gunmen.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins says the city has recently broken up several major theft networks and increased prison sentences up to 12 years.