Originally Posted by
law dawg
Apt analogy - it's taking an identifiable behavior within a section of a group and then labeling an entire group with it.
Also known as "stereotyping."
They are not thieves, they are preventing people to protect themselves against thieves, thus helping the thieves. Often, you'd call someone a thief even if he only drives the car to crash into the store. This is inaccurate, but it's quite common. No stereotyping at all, just a little slip of words.