Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21
|P|cKPOCKtTS' WORK
Crowded Streets Give Them
Many Opportunities.
HOW THIEVES WORK
METHODS HAVE UNDERGONE A
RADICAL CHANGE.
Glass Of Men That Keep Police and De-
tectives Ever on the
Alert.
HOW THIEVES WORK

From the Publishers Clearing Company. Wash
| ington D. G.
The crowded street cars OF the winter sea-
| son furnish lucrative field for the opera
| ton of that particular class of cr.m nails
| known as pickpockets. OF course. they dc
| not work only during the winter season
| nor only In street cars. In fact they are
always with us and their field of activity
is not confined to any one place. Wherever
| a crowd of people congregate there are also
| liable to be present several members of the
| light-f1ngered fraternity, as pickpcckets
| are also known. The theater, the depars-
ment store and the crowded streets furnish
a fair profit to skilful pickpocket but
| he prefers a crowded street car for severa
| important reasons.
| Working in the street cars Is more profit
| able to the pckpocket because he can eX
| ercise greater choice in selecting pros
| porous looking victim and, besides, there Is
| also greater possibility of his attempt be-
| ing successful. He does not have to exer'
| else unusual caution in his operations be-
I cause a great deal of jostling is necessary
| to excite suspicion In a street car. where
passengers are crowded 50 close together
| Moreover, there is also less chance or de-
| lection, and, whether the attempt Is sue
cessful or not the crook can cover up his
| tracks by merely leaving the car. All thest
| advantages make street-car work most In
| teresting to professional Clipper as pick
| pockets are known in police slang
Two pickpockets generally work In one
| street car. To the other passengers stand
| ing on the rear platform the clipper and
| his accomplice are apparently unacquaint-
| ed. But while the other platform riders
| are surging about as the car 5oits along tn'
| street, and trying to preserve their respec-
| tive equilibriums. the confederates have ex-
| changed signals and have determined whom
they will rob. The picking Is accomplish
| ed in number Of ingenious ways-one OF
| the most effective being for the operator 10
| hold newspaper in front of him. conceal
| ing his right hand. The pickpocket lurches
| toward the victim. while at the same time
| the accomplice jostles him In another oirec.
| ton While this is being done the rlgnt
| hand of the expert workman under the pa
| per has stealthily been slipped into the VIC
| TINS pocket for his watch. loose bills OF
| wallet. Even a watch chain, unless II
made of tempered steel, cannot protect the
| owner from an expert pickpocket. OF
s.slane-cutter." as those who work with IN
strumentS are called.
| Slang Of the Crooks.
| In the language Of crooks. a watch chain
| Is slang" and the cutter Is pair OF
! pfncers with short handle and strong
| sharp laws It Is made Of the finest. haro-
| est steel, and Is the inseparable companion
! of almost every pickpocket Pressed over
any watch chain Of soft metal, the leverage
| is applied by the palm OF the hand and the
| cutter does It's work silently and effective
| ly. After this preparatory move the watch
! is then removed by the ordinary methods.
| There is another method in vogue among
pickpockets which requires considerably
more skill. 1t is known as the "pack-haho
Dip" and it is seldom used ror any othet
p,1rpose than obtaining watches Some ex-
merits use this method almost entirely and
| thew prefer it because in case of arrest
| there is no tool like the .'slangrcutter TO
| betray the pickpOckets profession. In US
ing the .'back-hand Clip the crook, instead
of facing the man whose watch or money
he is after, stands with his back TO hlnl:
In this position his right, hand Is placed
behind his back and opposite the vest
pocket of his victim. The latter hardly
susnects that a man who is standing with
his back to him, even II he 1oits against
him, Is making an attempt to pick MS
pocket and, even after the victim s.
covers that his pocket has been picked, ne
Is more apt to accuse someone who stood
facing him.
These are not the only methods of picking
a pocket but they are the ones most com
monty used and the most successful But
in every method ever devised dexterity is
necessary. A clumsy man would never
make a successful pickpocket. for obvious
reasons To become proficient in the art
of dipping q pickpocket must spend years
of his early life in serving an exaeting ap-
premiership. Usually he begins his GRIM
inaI career by learning on dummy. insthe
pockets of which electric bells are placed.
When he is skillful enough to remove ar
ticIes from these pockets without ringing
the bell he Is promoted to the second class,
where his criminal education Is directed by
an expert pickpocket The latter assumes
the part of the victim, and when the stu
dents are sufficiently expert to remove ar
ticles from their teachers pockets without
his knowledge they are graduated from the
school of instruction. Next they start to
obtain their practical experience as the
Cfo1l n IL
pocket. During this period they sometimes
receive percentage of the profits. but
their share Is small because OF their lack
Of experience and their practical immunity
from arrest. Whenever anyone Is arrested
the clipper" who actually does the pick
ing, is caught, but the "stalI' almost al
ways escapes.
Methods Have Changed.
During the last twenty years the methods
of almost every business organization have
undergone radical change, and this ten
dency toward improvement in methods has
also Influenced the pocket-picking industry.
The old method was for a mob OF dip
pers'' to push through crowd, scattering
people right and left and snatching at
everything valuable in sight, but 1t was
abandoned on account OF its crudity and
lack of success Such a method was bound
10 attract attention and often the experts
did not succeed in making their escape. Be-
sides, this procedure would be even less
successful in this present age of strenu-
osity, for the pickpockets would now be
liable to run into crowd containing sew
eraI amateur pugilists or foot ball players,
who could give the criminals an interesting
rough-and-tumble fight
AS far as appearances are concerned, the
modern pickpocket is hard to tell from
reputable citizen. His business makes 1t
necessary for him to be as ineonspicuous as
possible and ne naturally endeavors to
avoid attracting attention. He may be.
and often is, a well-dressed, stylish person,
who looks more like prosperous business
man than what the popular mind pictures
as a common thief.
Fortunately for the sake of society at
large, almost every expert pickpocket Is
well known to the police. 1t is seldom that
a crook practices his trade for any length
of time without falling into the hands of the
police and receiving a term in some penf-
Tertiary. When this does occur his pic
ture and physical measurements are enroll
ed In the criminal records of the police and
his subsequent career Is more uncomforta-
BILE. Wherever he may be. he is under con-
slant surveillance and he Is the first upon
whom suspicion falls II some crime Is COM
nnitted.
Keep Police Busy.
Detectives and police officials have to keep