Pickpocketing is a form of
larceny
that involves the stealing of
money or
other valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the
theft at the time. It requires considerable
dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A thief who works in this
manner is known as a pickpocket.
Pickpockets and other thieves, especially those working in teams,
sometimes apply
distraction, such as asking a question or bumping into the victim.
These distractions sometimes require sleight of hand, speed,
misdirection and other types of skills.[1]
Pickpocketing can be a dangerous trade, since persons aware of the
presence of pickpockets in an area may conceal such items as specially
designed
mousetraps,[2]
rat
traps or empty decoy wallets on their person. Since pickpockets
usually have no way to gauge the contents of a wallet, save by the style
of dress of the victim, they must take what they find.
Supposedly, a school exists to train pickpockets, known as the
School of the Seven Bells. It is thought to be located near
Bogotá,
Colombia, in the Andes Mountains.[3]
Pickpockets may be found in any crowded place around the world.
However,
Barcelona and
Rome were
recently singled out as being particularly dangerous pickpocket havens.[4][5][6]
As entertainment
Pickpocket skills are employed by some
magicians as a form of entertainment, either by taking an item from
a spectator or returning it without their knowledge of having lost it.
James Freedman, a.k.a 'The Man of Steal', created the pickpocket
sequences for the 2005 film
Oliver Twist directed by
Roman Polanski.
Time Out magazine wrote that Freedman is "possibly the world's
best pickpocket". Professional illusionist
David Avadon featured pickpocketing as his trademark act for more
than 30 years and promoted himself as "a daring pickpocket with dashing
finesse" and "the country's premier exhibition pickpocket, one of the
few masters in the world of this underground art.".[7][8]
Smith Journal of Australia has described America's Thomas Blacke
as one of the top pickpockets in the world.[9]
Famous pickpockets
Famous fictional pickpockets include
The Artful Dodger and
Fagin,
characters from the
Charles Dickens novel
Oliver Twist. Famous true-life historical pickpockets include
the
Irish prostitute
Chicago May, who was profiled in books;
Mary Frith, nicknamed Moll Cutpurse; the
Gubbins band of highwaymen; and
Cutting Ball, a notorious Elizabethan thief.