I live in one of those places (Amsterdam). It's because this isn't a practical problem for anyone living there, so why should we care to spend our tax money and

I live in one of those places (Amsterdam). It's because this isn't a practical problem for anyone living there, so why should we care to spend our tax money and police attention on it instead of crime we ourselves are affected by? Pick-pocketing in any of the places mentioned upthread isn't some general city-wide or societal problem. It's narrowly isolated to a few tourist-trap neighborhoods, and even there only then to people who're obvious marks. Such as slow-moving tourists swarming around in groups all wearing backpacks and oblivious to their surroundings. If you look at actual statistics on crime petty theft isn't some rampant issue in these societies.