Cops create groups in WeChat to catch thieves

Police have created groups on the social media chat application WeChat to crack down on pickpockets in Minhang district, local media reported Wednesday.

Police said the groups, which help police officers, emergency dispatchers and business owners work together to identify pickpockets, have succeeded in reducing the number of theft reports in the Tianshan and Qibao areas of the district, according to a report on the news website xinmin.cn. They have also helped police reduce the time it takes to solve pickpocketing cases.

The groups serve as a place for business owners to post surveillance videos of pickpockets and for police to post mug shots of known criminals, said Peng Changlin, a plainclothes police officer who started the WeChat group for the Tianshan area.

The groups allow business owners to immediately post suspect sightings and theft reports, which help police officers in their area get to the scene right away, said Zhu Huijia, a police officer at the Qibao police station who specializes in catching pickpockets.

Theft crimes are common in the Qibao commercial area in Minhang district. The Qibao police station also set up a WeChat group last year. Two-thirds of the group's members are area business owners, the report said.

After the Qibao group was introduced, the number of street theft cases reported in the area fell from 74 in December to 58 in January, six in February and zero in April, according to the report.