After a spate of headlines about thieves snatching luxury watches and jewellery from tourists on the streets of Italy's cities, is this type of 'snatch and grab' crime something travellers should be concerned about?

This week, an American man in central Milan became the latest victim of a high-profile street crime when two men snatched an €80,000 Patek Philippe watch straight off his wrist.

While the victim was physically unharmed, this brazen midnight theft was far from an isolated incident. In June, another American visitor in Naples was violently dragged by a scooter-riding thief targeting a €130,000 watch, while one US man in Rome chased down two assailants after they snatched his gold chains.

For travellers, these reports of street thefts can paint a worrying picture of the crime rate in Italy’s cities.

And thefts in Italy have increased in the last couple of years, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore's most recent analysis of crime data from the interior ministry.

Snatch-and-grab robberies like the ones reported above – called ‘furto con strappo’ or ’scippo’ (singular) – are the type that often make Italian news headlines.

The tourist hub of Florence ranks highest per capita for reports of this style of theft, followed by Milan, Turin, Naples, and Rimini.

READ ALSO: Which Italian cities have the highest crime rates?

But the data reveals that you're far more likely to fall victim to a pickpocket (borseggiatore) in Italy than you are to a snatch-and-grab bandit. 

Even if Venice may have a reputation for pickpocketing, the data shows that Florence and Rome were the cities with the highest reported rates of these stealthy, non-violent thefts, followed closely by Milan.

In Florence, there were 792 ‘furti con strappo’ recorded last year compared to 11,051 pickpocketing incidents.

The US State Department warns American travellers about pickpocketing specifically on public transport and in crowds.

Crucially, the available data only measures reported crimes committed against a city's registered resident population. It does not factor in the millions of tourists who flood these historical areas every year.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy's major cities?

Despite Italy being home to many of the world’s top luxury brands, openly wearing expensive items in the streets isn't common. Tourists may not be aware of this, and thieves single out potential victims based on their shiny accessories.

According to the official OSAC Security Report on Italy, the country has "a moderate rate of crime, especially for theft and economic crimes; violent crimes are rare."

The report reassures US nationals that they “are generally safe in Italy and are not specific targets based on nationality."

However, it notes that "criminals do often target foreigners for opportunistic petty theft such as pickpocketing, bag snatching, and thefts from parked vehicles."

While the thought of a thief targeting your valuables is unsettling, Italian crime experts highlight the bigger picture.

"We always need to put these data into perspective," Marco Dugato, a senior researcher on transnational crime at Milan’s Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, tells Il Sole 24 Ore. "Compared to 2014 statistics, overall thefts in Italy are actually down 33 percent."