Question about interpreting an NHK news article, 子どもに話しかけたり


In an
[article](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011758741000/k10011758741000.html),
I was reading:

>
> 子どもが学校へ行く途中や帰る途中に犯罪の被害に遭う事件が毎年なくなりません。警察庁によると、おととしは６４４の事件がありました。去年は新潟市で７歳の女の子が殺されました。
>
> 警察庁によると、事件の前には、歩いている子どもの近くに怪しい人がずっといたり、子どもに話しかけたりしていることがあります

I'm a little bit confused about the meaning of なくなりません in the first sentence
first paragraph, as well as the meaning of 子どもに話しかけたりしていることがあります in the second
paragraph.

Does なくなりません imply that these crimes have not stopped every year? Also does
子どもに話しかけたりしていることがあります simply mean that the suspicious people were making
conversation / talking to children?

My translation:

> Crimes that children have fallen victim to have not stopped every year while
> children have been going to and from school. According to the police
> department, there were 644 incidents two years ago. This year in Niigata-
> shi, a seven year old girl was killed.
>
> According to the police department, Before these incidents, there were
> suspicious individuals hanging around and talking to kids.




Yes, なくなりません means that crimes have not stopped, i.e. continued to happen. It
is the polite negation of なくなる.

As for your second question, it's part of a [grammar pattern of
~たり~たりする](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/sequential-and-parallel-
actions/#4). It basically lists various actions/states. You can see it in
action in this NHK article as 歩いている子どもの近くに怪しい人がずっとい **たり** 、子どもに話しかけ
**たりしている**. Note that in this case している is the て-form of する + いる.

For this sentence, the first action/state is いたり, which is the verb `to be`.
So this means that there were suspicious people near the kids for long periods
of time. The second action/state is 話しかけたり. The base verb 話しかける means to [talk
to/begin a
conversation](https://jisho.org/search/%E8%A9%B1%E3%81%97%E3%81%8B%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B).
So this means those suspicious people were talking to the kids.




Yes, なくなりません means that crimes have not stopped, i.e. continued to happen. It
is the polite negation of なくなる.

As for your second question, it's part of a [grammar pattern of
~たり~たりする](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/sequential-and-parallel-
actions/#4). It basically lists various actions/states. You can see it in
action in this NHK article as 歩いている子どもの近くに怪しい人がずっとい **たり** 、子どもに話しかけ
**たりしている**. Note that in this case している is the て-form of する + いる.

For this sentence, the first action/state is いたり, which is the verb `to be`.
So this means that there were suspicious people near the kids for long periods
of time. The second action/state is 話しかけたり. The base verb 話しかける means to [talk
to/begin a
conversation](https://jisho.org/search/%E8%A9%B1%E3%81%97%E3%81%8B%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B).
So this means those suspicious people were talking to the kids.

