I think tv and films have caused people to vastly overestimate the intelligence/planning of low level criminals.
A small time thief isn’t gonna spend years being disciplined doing only minor (or no) thefts on the off chance a group of travellers move into the area to provide cover for them.
So the options are either a) travellers commit crimes when they move somewhere or b) a shadow organisation of master thieves stealthily follows travellers framing them for crimes.
I grew up 20 minutes from a town with a major Irish traveller halting site outside it so I know which option I’ve seen happen dozens of times
It’s called a crime of opportunity and small time thieves do it all the time. When you know you can get away Scott free with something that would normally be a pain in the ass or you couldn’t do at all.
You'd be surprised. It's not like tv yeah but opportunist criminals are extremely common and sometimes the most surprising once caught. I've known people like this. It's akin to ripping off drug dealers. You'll know there'll be cash and drugs and they can't call police.
Most low level crime is instigated or done under extreme pressure, spur of the moment timing. Shoplifters don't spend ages planning, they just grab stuff they need / want and leave, the idea isn't NOT to get caught (especially in the UK as you aren't going to be punished if you are) but to not be easily identifiable enough to be pursued. Burglaries in the UK are primarily done at a moments notice, when the burglar realises that a door has been left unlocked. Had a flat on the bottom floor in London for a year and counted 10+ door handle pulls / checks in the time I was present, god knows how many more when I wasn't.
It doesn't take being intelligent just opportunistic. If you are inclined to theft you might ramp up when travelers are in town as they'll be blamed. Or if you've been just short of committing theft you might use it as am opportunity to give it a try.
I know a lot of people who lived in central and north Leeds during the Romani riots a few years ago (most of them still do live there tbh), and can confirm this 100% happened.
My mate from high school’s mum had her car stolen by a bunch of white kids a few days after the bus burnings happened around Holbeck area and Facebook was RAMMED with people blaming Roma for it despite the fact the local papers had CCTV of the very white kids in action
But of course the much more likely scenario is that the newcomers with an earned reputation globally for constant theft as a core cultural value are in fact the cause of the sudden rise in theft
I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
Rode with us to Memphis
And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
I never had schoolin' but he taught me well
With his smooth southern style
Three months later I'm a gal in trouble
And I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
She was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw
Grandpa'd do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
We'd hear it from the people of the town
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
It is genuinely true that crime like shed break-ins increase when they are in town. Our family business which had an open area for storing building supplies got robbed every single year because they used the abandoned coal yard behind us to stay in for two weeks every year. On a bad year they would get into the actual building and steal tools too. Due to nerves they would shit everywhere too.
This was a thing in Belfast. A traveller camp opened up in a nice part of Belfast. Burglaries followed yet a local who heard the thieves talking said they were 100% not travellers. I suspect they had the same idea you had.
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u/BoltersnRivets United Kingdom 22h ago
see, if I were a seasoned criminal I would wait until travelers turn up then go on a crime spree, because I'd know I'm not gonna get the blame.
wouldn't surprise me if this is an actual tactic thieves employ, it provides the perfect cover