Pickpockets Flourish In Crowds

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32304, 23 May 1970, Page 7

Pickpockets Flourish In Crowds

At a Cheltenham race ' meeting recently, the| television eye lighted on

a man quietly picking pockets—which was why at a later meeting at . Doncaster detectives ’’were specially alert to the quietest but oldest crime-of-the-crowds. Police in several countries have been saying in recent years that most of today’s criminals are too lazy to learn their jobs properly. Youngsters lack the patience of their elders, preferring to assault or otherwise intimidate their victims, running the risk of being identified later. It takes years to make a highly skilled pickpocket—like the Spaniard named Angel Fingers who figures in the files of Interpol. Employing six assistants to locate his victims, he is said to be so adept that he can apparently take the money in the centre of a roll of banknotes in a man’s pocket without the owner even knowing he was nearby. Natural Habitat The pickpocket’s natural habitat is the crowd—at the sports ground, in the exhibition, in rush hour transport, in busy stations, pubs and shops so he has to blend with it. He would wear an old raincoat and trilby to blend with the football match crowd and a bowler hat and rolled umbrella in a city tube train. Some “dips” are masters of disguise. At the height of the London tourist season the police were alerted to a pickpocket who wore a blonde wig at St Paul’s Cathedral, a dark one at the Tower and a light brown one among the crowds at Heathrow Airport. Different coloured wigs were passed between members of the gang so that each could look different within minutes of robbing a man’s pocket or taking a woman’s bandbag. But the disguise remained a disguise: the “dips” never stood out—and found it prudent to work different areas continually.

Most pickpockets who keep their slim fingers flexible with exercises—work in pairs or with two or three confederates under cover, the

confederate having the vital job of distracting the victim’s attention. Warning Sign Thus he may do something to attract attention in a busy street. A crowd quickly collects, pressing closely together if the pavement is narrow. A second confederate may .rest his fore-arm against the back of his victim’s shoulders in order to raise his jacket. This enables the third man to explore his victim’s . pocket—though this may be done with slightly more risk by No. 2. But suppose the victim suspects something? The pickpocket will at once sense this by a tightening of the spine muscles, transmitted through his own arm. Instantly the pickpocket’s fingers move away from the victim’s pocket. The game, however, may be just beginning for the victim is often too embarrassed to feel for his wallet a second time. That might look too much like suspecting the “ordinary looking man” just behind him of thieving. But that is just the opportunity the “ordinary looking" pickpocket has been awaiting. Two or three “dips” may work together at a busy bus stop. As the passengers move towards the bus, one of the gang will get up the steps only to realise, suddenly, that he is “on the wrong bus.” He turns to get off—and so holds up the crowd. Wallets Disappear This is the signal for his companions to push from behind. In the confusion the wallets and purses of the victims vanish, usually being passed back to the pushers who deliberately "miss" the' bus to get away with their’ loot.

But supposing some alarm is raised? The picker of the pocket has neither purse nor wallet on him. The bigger the crowd in the rush-hour street, the easier it is for the accomplice to get away. Some other gangs find riskier but sometimes readier pickings from bank customers. A respectable-looking member of a gang may go into a bank, apparently to fill in a slip to deposit money. Casually—but really very sharply—he watches people taking out money. When he

sees someone draw out a large sum in cash, he leaves the bank directly behind him. As the crook reaches the pavement, he signals to his accomplice, indicating the pocket used by the victim by putting his handkerchief in the same pocket of his own

suit. The gang closes in and begins a small argument—it might be over getting a taxi—and while the misunderstandings ape being sorted out, the pickpocket lifts the money.

Newspaper Trick A favourite trick in rushhour trains is to pull out a newspaper, fumbling clumsily with it. If the carriage jerks violently or the train pulls up suddenly, almost naturally in the packed carriage the thief's paper goes over the face of his smaller victim.

The pickpocket apologises profusely for his “clumsiness" in losing his balance and bumping into his victim. While the man is distracted the confederate next to the thief has adroitly picked his pocket. Other pickpockets work the “coat” dodge. Into a crowded (rain the thief carries a large overcoat. As the train suddenly lurches he bumps against the passenger he has marked down—and he puts his hand in his pocket, under cover of the coat. The wallet goes to a confederate who gets off at the next station. The pickpocket leaves

the train at the station after that.

One important point is that j the pickpocket works from j the back or the side: he| carefully avoids looking ip his i victim’s face for fear ofj being identified. World Expert One of the world's great experts in picking pockets—legally—is Borra, the son of I a Serb shopkeeper. Borra has! toured Britain with the Bertram Mills Circus and appeared in night clubs and music halls all over the world. In early youth in

Jugoslavia he was employed watching for shoplifters which gave him his idea for his “dip” act. He has passed much information on to police training centres in several countries.

Some men. he emphasises, are at obvious risk—those

who leave overcoats with valuables in them and those who have loose money in back trouser pockets. He thinks the most difficult pocket to pick is the trouser side pocket—but the really expert “dip” can get past buttons and zips.

The experts agree with the police that the best weapon in the battle against pickpockets is awareness. On one occasion in a town where Borra gave demonstrations and received much publicity, the number of reported losses from pocket-picking fell by 60 per cent. The public had been alerted to such dangers as people coming too close to them—bumping against men or women in the streets—and keeping wallets in inside breast pockets of overcoats. But few people are quite as vulnerable as the woman who goes shopping with a purse lying casually on top of an open basket. There is a crowd at a counter. The shopper keeps the basket at her side. Another woman leans over the basket to pick up something from the counter. In a flash a confederate has taken the purse and given it to a third woman who vanishes at once. It has all happened in a second, through the shopper being unaware of the risk.—Copyright P.A. Features.