While using the term gypsy may be considered offensive, it's not as offensive as the tinker swine themselves, who steal anything that's not nailed down and then cart it off to their caravans.

Here a funny tale about the UK comic Viz from Wikipedia.

The comic got in trouble with the United Nations after featuring a strip called 'The Thieving Gypsy Bastards'; unbeknownst to the Viz editorial team at the time, Gypsies are regarded as a race under UK law and thus the comic was guilty of racism. During the resultant court case, UK newspaper The Sun ran a story revealing that the principal Roma man who initiated the action against them was in fact also being tried for, and was later found guilty of, handling stolen property.