There are some in New Orleans. Just put your phone down the front of your pants and you're good. Also, people there will shoot you in the face for no reason, and the East side is like a war zone with machine guns going off.
LOL. Did I say that all gypsies are criminals or something? I just said that most pickpocketers are from gypsie gangs and gypsie gangs are a real thing in Europe not some racist conspiracy. Just like that the Turkish mafia or Chinese Triads in Europe is a real thing, pointing that out doesn't mean saying all Turks and Chinese in Europe are mobsters.
You are doing the same thing as the Israeli that call everyone an anti-semite for pointing out the crimes their government commits. Just because someone points out that pickpocketers are mostly roma doesn't mean they are being racist.
We've got carnies, which have a similarly cool-unsavory reputation but they do their best to pick the pockets voluntarily. UK has some squatter protection and a history of accepting and sometimes even romanticizing the gypsies which USA does not, so any illegal encampment that has any property worth having in violation of zoning is run out very quickly, especially out in the country where you might just get shot in the head for trying.