Police will watch for pickpockets during Super Bowl

Pickpockets looking to score off the Super Bowl crowds in Indianapolis may get more than they bargained for as police boost their downtown presence for the game.

WRTV-TV Channel 6 reported that police expect pickpockets to flock to the city because of the massive crowds that will pack downtown during Super Bowl week. Theft is one of the most prevalent crimes that plagues the annual sporting event.

"Obviously, we're focused on it. The bottom line is when you have a couple of hundred thousand people downtown, you're going to have an increase in criminal activity," Deputy Police Chief Michael Bates said.

Police will have hundreds of officers, in uniform and undercover, keeping an eye on crowds downtown throughout the Super Bowl celebration.

"You never know who's watching you," Bates said.

Twenty-four-year-old Corey Tanner said he was victimized by a pair of pickpockets who executed the classic bump-and-run inside a convenience store.

"A couple of kids had pickpocketed my wallet before I would get to the cash register with my drink. One of them bumped into me, and before I knew it, they had my wallet and were gone," Tanner said.

WRTV says men should carry wallets and other valuables in their front pockets, and women should carry purses diagonally across their chests.

Police also advise visitors not to carry more money than they can afford to lose.

.