So my sister in law had her purse stolen in Las Vegas.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

Not an unusual occurrence, I suspect.

What is unusual, at least to me, is how seriously the Vegas PD has taken the case. I don't know all the details but the sister in law was subpoenaed to come and testify and the district attorney is paying the air fare. Hmm.

In chicago, you report a crime and you are just as likely to get a smack in the kisser for bothering the cop. Twice I have reported crimes and felt like I was going to be the one arrested.

I suppose the local cops don't care for tourists getting taken before the one arm bandits do their thing. I guess she was a new arrival with a purse full of cash that hadn't made it to the hotel safe yet. Apparently, she stopped for a few plays before heading to the room.

I guess it just seems odd to make such a big deal out of a common theft.

The family had to wire her money and she had to use the police report for id to get on the plane home.

[London Lover Man]

1. That sucks, but thefts are pretty high in Las Vegas...

Pickpockets loves Las Vegas...

[jberryhill]

2. Yes they take it seriously

If you want to rob tourists in Las Vegas, you have to have a license.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Lol.

[global1]

7. I Don't Think The City Wants To Get A Bad Rap For Robberies Like This....

if it happens to too many people - people will stop coming to Vegas because they think it is high crime.

They have to portray the town as being tourist friendly to keep the crowds coming.

Sending her air fare - is probably a good public relations move. The OP spread the word that Vegas cops take these things seriously. You can't buy advertising like that. Now we all know that fact.

[jberryhill]

8. It's unfair competition

[LuvNewcastle]

9. Casinos try to get every nickel they can.

Pickpockets hurt their bottom line, and that pisses them off. That's why so many of the machines don't pay coins anymore -- they print tickets when you cash out. People were using coins to tip casino workers, and the casinos had to think of a way to get more of that money. Machines that print tickets really cut into the tips workers were receiving.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

10. I don't have all the details but the thief was apparently seen on video...

.... using a "voucher" immediately after the theft.

Not sure what the voucher was for.

[enlightenment]

11. If your SIL had

checked in to the hotel, she was probably given some play vouchers for the casino.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. I think that is it.

[Travis_0004]

4. Maybe they figgure if they can catch more and give them a long enough time in jail crime goes down

Don't know if it will work, but at least they caught the guys.

I think vegas cops should do a sting. Get a bunch of knockoff designer purses, and put a dye bag from the bank into them, and let them get stolen.

[rocktivity]

5. DING DING DING! Hassin Bin Sober, you're our grand prize winner!

I suppose the local cops don't care for tourists getting taken before the one arm bandits do their thing.

I believe the technical term for that is: well, duh.


rocktivity

[CreekDog]

6. With any luck the purse will still be there

as are most things that happen in Las Vegas.

[cwydro]

19. Well played! nt

[Exilednight]

13. A city that thrives on tourism is going to take these things seriously.

If the city gets a reputation as dangerous for tourists, then people stop going. It took Vegas two decades to revive its industry, it's not going to let it slip away without a fight.

[gvstn]

14. I only know from teevee shows (Vegas?)

But if real casinos have one tenth of the video "eye in the sky" capabilities they portrayed on the show then they probably have the thief on crystal clear video every second he was in the casino. Hard to believe a Las Vegas thief would purse snatch with that type of security. Couldn't be too bright.

If they do have the crime on video then it makes sense that the cops would aggressively pursue it. If it happened on the street, probably not so much.

[onethatcares]

15. but from what

I've seen on the teevee show (Reno 911). Things could be a bit different

[mercuryblues]

16. they do

take it seriously. I have a friend who had her purse pick-pocketed at the Mohegan Sun. Security looked at the video and arrested the guy within the hour.

If a casino gets a rep of people getting robbed and security/police don't care they will stop going. There are too many casinos out there to choose from.

[Lee-Lee]

17. If they are going to all that effort likely the culprit

is a much bigger fish in the crime pond than a small purse snatcher, or they are using the case against him to build another case against whoever he may work for.

It could be very likely they know they person had done a lot more, but this is what they can prove so they are making best of what they have.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. I wondered if maybe going after a ring.

But the person didn't seem too smart to get caught on video using a voucher.

[Major Nikon]

18. Theft from tourists is bad for business in Las Vegas

If the word gets out that tourists are getting fleeced by the locals, people will stop showing up and their house of cards will fold, which is ultimately bad for the cops as well.

Once I was a victim of theft and ID theft from a family member. After getting the run around from the cops, I was finally told by a police investigator they didn't have much interest in investigating crimes between family members because witnesses never show up at trial. He actually suggested I get a baseball bat and take care of it myself.

[bluedigger]

20. I would imagine the casino is paying for any extra costs.

They protect their turf vigorously, for good reason.

[One_Life_To_Give]

21. Supposedly years back Purse Snatchers and PickPockets just disappeared in Vegas

This sounds surprisingly lenient by comparison.

As others have said if people don't feel safe in Vegas they will go someplace else. No shortage of competition these days.

[WestCoastLib]

23. Where else can you walk around black-out drunk and be safe?

Relatively.

Vegas is an interesting case-study on capitalism. Now, there are certainly incidents and fairly common incidents, even, due to the sheer numbers of people there and the amount of money exchanging hands.

But really, considering the fact that you can be pretty much passed out on your feet drunk and walk around the street in relative safety, it's pretty amazing.

Tourism is 99% of everyone's bottom line in Vegas (even the thieves), so everybody has a vested interest in keeping it safe (as long as we are talking about The Strip)