JEDDAH: In the wake of an increase in the number of theft cases around the Kingdom, from wallets to cars, residents are increasingly concerned about this phenomenon.

Although Saudi Arabia is a safe country, there have been alarming incidents of theft, which must be addressed.

Police municipalities are warning shoppers to be aware of their surroundings and potential threats to their safety.

Thieves are moving among shoppers as they mill around malls, supermarkets, local shops and on the streets of the Kingdom’s busy cities. In some instances cashiers and employees working in shops are targets of thievery.

Abdul Samad, an employee of Alshaya retail brands company, was robbed in one of the malls in Jeddah during busy shopping hours. He reported that a boy ran into him while he was on the escalator, snatching his bag that was full of petty cash for the company, and quickly darted out of the mall.

“I tried chasing after him, however as I approached him, he threatened me with a knife and scurried outside. This created panic among the mall shoppers, as some of them witnessed the incident and saw the knife. What was even more disturbing about this episode was the fact that none of the security guards came to my assistance,” he said.

According to the mall’s security guards, they were unable to come to the man’s assistance because they were several meters away from the robbery and none of them were near the gate to catch him before he escaped.

Turki Ismail, who witnessed the incident said: “The thief was accompanied with a group of other youths, who left the car ready for him outside the mall.”

Jeddah police are still investigating this incident, and the case remains unresolved.

Thieves usually carry out a surveillance of the place and people before they commit their crime. They enter public places disguised as shoppers and are usually accompanied by a gang, who facilitate their act, either by moving the loot swiftly into a safe place, or by making the escape easier.

There has been a steep spike in the number of theft complaints around the Kingdom, police said.

Mehmood, a Dammam resident, was robbed by a gang when coming back from the office around 9 p.m. on Tuesday. “Two young men blocked my car, while another two ordered me to roll down the window, and threatened me into giving them all the cash I was carrying. Fortunately, I was carrying a little amount of money, so it was not a huge loss.”

Police departments are assigning more officers to patrol the streets. However, even though theft is on the rise in the Kingdom, security officials have displayed a mild response to these crimes, attributing it to a lack of knowledge of these incidents because victims usually prefer not to report these crimes to the police. Security officials stress that residents have to file complaints and report such incidents, in order for justice to take its course.

Gangs involved in theft are not the only cases that have left the police with a backlog of unsolved crimes, but female thieves are posing an additional problem to security officials.

Samina Mohammed, a local resident said: “Police stations need to hire female security officers, to investigate crimes in areas or situations male officers can not access.”