SEATTLE - One way to get an expensive cup of coffee is by leaving your belongings unattended while you wait in line for your latte. Police are warning against it because thieves are banking on people making that mistake.
In downtown Seattle, some coffee drinkers confessed to using their bags or laptops to save a table while they order their morning coffee.
"I feel safe leaving it there, not because I think nobody will take it, but I think my odds are better that nobody will," said John Gessford-Wilhelmsen.
"I suppose you do leave it unattended for one second," said Caron Roesler. "You are thinking you can watch it."
"I always do that," admitted Daniel Hernandez. "I feel secure about the city. I always leave everything and nothing happens to me."
In New York, it became such a problem detectives began conducting sting operations to catch coffee house crooks, according to a report by The New York Times.
While it is a preventable crime, Seattle police see it daily.
"We respond to these types of calls probably a dozen times a day," said Officer Mark Jamieson. "Crime is going to happen and sometimes there is not a lot we can do about it, but with this the owner has all the power."
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