Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-03-01
THE BYE WAYS 0F CRIME
How You May Protect Your
self Against Theft.
WAYS OF PICKPOCKETS.
How Women Are Used as a Cover
The Glove With a Pocket-The Um-
brella Thief-The Pretty Girl With
the Bouquet-The Well Dressed and
Smart Woman.

Smart Woman.
"A certain amount of care, combined
with common sense and caution, will
nonplus the criminal" says r. j.
Power Berrey in his book just printed
in England, entitled 1.-The Bye Ways Of
Crime"
The list of crimes for which no one
has been convicted, he shows, is very
lengthy one, and is being added to day
after day, and will be added to so long
as the public decline to take care of
themselves or their property
Here are a few extracts from his
book designed to help people protect
themselves against the most common
up-to date devices of criminals.
A pickpocket when he sets out on
thieving expedition is, whenever pos
sible, accompanied by one or more con-
federates.
The confederates serve two purposes,
both very important. They, like all
criminals, know most of the detectives
they have to deal with, and so are able
to give the operator warning when
danger threatens, while as soon as he
makes haul the chief turns the loot
over to the watchers, and thus secures
The confederate must be a very
smart man. He has to keep a sharp
lookout for the police, and must be
always ready to catch and dispose of
any article the thief may throw or
pass to him. while he also has to cover
the operations of the pickpocket-real-
ly acting as a living screen. The spoils
are therefore rarely in the possession
nf ha otb ,,ft
Sometimes a woman is used as a
''cover," and one instance of this which
came under notice occurred at a rail-
way booking office.
The woman was arguing some mat
ter of a ticket with the clerk. Behind
her came the thief, while next to him
was a portly individual, whose wealth
of chain denoted the presence of
valuable watch. Owing to the crowd
the three were very close together, and
the thief, holding a cigar rather con-
spicuously in his left hand, reached
round with his right and soon had the
watch, which he promptly slipped into
the woman's pocket, at the same time
giving her the "office" to get out of the
way.
Even If the man had been arrested
he could not have been connected with
the crime for the property was then
far away from him.
One individual invented a glove, in
the palm of which was a small pocket.
Probably this dodge would not have
become known but for the fact that
the thief, when closely pressed, drop
ped the glove at the edge of the foot
path near a shop from which several
gold pencil cases had just been stolen.
Protruding from the pocket were two
of the pencil cases.
The glove it was ascertained, was
used in this way: The thief, a we'll
dressed man. walked into the shop and
asked to be shown various small arti-
cles, and while going over case from
which to make a selection, he slipped
what suited him into the glove pocket
His hands were always in sight, and
when he had made a small purchase he
left the shop, and of course nothing
had been observed to arouse suspicion
And now for another kind of sneak
thief. Flower girls as class are fair
ly honest, but now and again there are
specimens who are exceptionally clever
with their fingers. Pushing their wares.
they will put buttonhole bouquet
that he might become enamored with
the perfume, and while the flowers
| screen her other hand, she deftly lifts
| his pin.
Many landlords of licensed liquor
houses in England keep the gold that
Is received In glass which is placed