Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-10-07
PICKPOCKETs AND THEIR WAYS.
A Talk with Detective Flinders About
the Light Fingered Gentry.


4 GOOD MANY EXPECTED HIRE THIS wEEK-uow
THEY oPERArE-woRDs OF CAUTION TO visi-
TORS WITH vALuABLEs-FEMALE THIEVES AND
THEIR METHODS
There will be an Immense crowd Of people
here this week" said Detective Flinders OF the
drm Of McDevitt 4 Flinders. to Q STAR reporter
land that will no doubt attract here the usual
gangs Of thieves that depredzte On all large
gatherings Of people. There viii be manv
wealthy citizens among the visitors not only well
supplied with money. but most OF them with
valuable watches and Iew,lry. You can rest as
sured that no one knows better than the crooks.
The professional pickpock-ts who travel from
place to place and do nothing else for living
make study of the celebrations that are apt TO
draw large crowds Of well-to-do people and cal
cuate whether the trips worth making or not"
BIG CROWD OF wELL-To- DO VISITORS EXPECTED.
The authorities" he continued, have no
money to spend for outside assistance as they
ought to have. although some detectives from
the cities nearby will no doubt be here and lend
them aid In the detection Of the thieves While
the crowd may not b. as large as that at the in
auguratlon. there will BE- MANY thousand people
mere. lhere viii De larger number OF persons
rom tne surrounding country here than there
wa. ~as at the inauguration. The rainy weather at
lnat time Kept several thousand people at home
ihey W IL probably all be here this week because
taere VIII De more than one DAYS festivities and
the chances are that there will be some good
weather.
HOW MOB OF THIEVES WORK
Yes, picSpockets are usually very smart Eel.
lows" the detective went on. As a rule. they
dress well aud present such q good appearance
that they are not suspected. Blacksmith Dan.
VINO was one vi the finest operators In the bust
ness uSeu 10 say that II was great sport TO
stand of and See a mob work MANY persons
think that plckpockets 10 about aud do their
rooo'ng promiscuously. but that Is not the case
In the nrst place they don't oftea work single
handed They go about In gangs or. TO use
thrir own slang. In 'mobs' In the FIRST place
they pick out the mark a. the victims called.
and get him in position. That is the work OF
the mob and while he Is thus held the DIP as
the worker is called. commits the theft The
people who get the mark IN posi- are called
Stalls. The mark is selected not because b. ~
Wen dressed Or Is only supposed to have money.
THE sP0rTER,
whose duty 1t is to pick out the mark, can tell
from the victims actions whether he has much
money about him or not Most persons who
travel and carry money with them cannot refrain
from often placing their hand on the pocket IN
which the Cash is deposited to feel II IT In safe.
People who only carry q small amount are not
apt 10 do So Diamond plus. OF course can be
easily located. and 80 can valuable watch.
STREET CAR RUSH
"Thc principal places selected to work are on
street cars and rspec ally at the functions: also
hotel Corridors and places of public amusement.
mob OF thieves will. for instance. appear at
street-car Junction and when the passenger. are
getting on the car they will attempt to get on.
Inns OF course causes some confusion and the
STATS Will manage to detain some one while
the dip goes through him. There is ALWAYS
q confederate in the crowd who receives the
stolen property and makes way with It, so that
should the dip be caught In the act
nothing would be found on him.
"A GREAT MISTAKE
people make In 10 unconsciously assisting pick
pockets to operate. For instance. at the en-
trance to public place. where there Is lam.
everybody Is pushing, and In so doing the m ark
is held w. saving the stalls the trouble The
best tn ng to do In such q crowd or Jam IL to
stand perfectly quiet and not push back wards
aud forward. thus assisting the tn eyes,
There In another parsonage who takes an
Important part In picking pockets. He 10 the
one VINO does the tanning His business lie to
go ahead and feel for fat pocket books. and
when he finds one he gives the tip to the dip
and then the stalls come along and hold IN the
mark until the dip weeds him. There are
some
PIcKPoCKETs WHO WORK ALONE.
They have no coniederates to divide the plumber
with. and therefore the chanc-s OF being can
turrd are not SO great Some of those who
work alone use an overcoat for a blind. No
matter how severe the weather Is. they carry
their 0vercoat on their arms and work benrath
IT, lhey can secure diamond pin or watch
and without much OF chance of being captured
Inc overcoat covers the hand the operator
works with. 30 that the victim seldom suspects
the crook.
DUMMIES
There Is only one class Of pckpockets who
use dummies, and the talk about the ordinary
pickpocket using them Ia all oosh The dunn
my is only used in cases where such persons "a
bank messengers or business men, who make
regular trips TO bank are selected as the vic
TINS. Suct. persons carry their money In the
same sort OF a package every dav. and the thief
has no trouble TO make q similar package of
tissue paper This dummy is carried until an
opportunity TO take the book ia presented, and
then the dummy Is substituted. That ia us.d
to throw the victim OF his guard until the thief
has had time to cover his tracks. In most cases
OF that sort the victim carries the money In his
coat pocket.
CASE IN POINT.
81 remember" continued Detective Fliuders.
70 man who went to bank every day about
noon and always carried a large sum of money
with him. II was his habit to stop at q corner
fruit stand and purchase fruit. He invariably
laid his package OF money on the stand He
was spotted, and one day his valuable package
was removed and dummy was substituted
He put the dummy In his pocket and did not
know the difference until he reached the bank
and was about, as he supposed, to count the
| money. Instead Of bank notes be found he had
batch Of toilet paper"
FEMALE PyCKPOCKETs.
''Are there any female pickpockets7" inquired
the reporter.
''Oh, ves," answered the detective. "but their
operations are not so extensive as those of the
| males. They do not often ply their business on
the street, but confine their operations princi-
pally to stores, churches and indoor places
where there Is any sort Of a crowd and they
usually select women as their victims They are
very clever workers. indeed, and can work with
out push The female pickpocket 10 smart
and can usually take a trick without exciting
suspicion. Of course she is not suspected as
one would not ordinarily suspect q female Of
any such act. Then there Is q class OF women
who, through Irritation. entice men into an oys-
ter saloon or some other place and while there
take their purse or watch, and while the victim
is paying his bill she slips out. They are
THE MOST DANGEROUS FEMALE THIEVES,
for when man is robbed In that way he can't
afford to complain. a. his reputation would be
ruined. That is he way that many men are
robbed who tell ttr.r wives that they met with
4 .l.,.xN L.