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- This article is about the crime. For the Robert Bresson film, see Pickpocket (film)''.
Picking pockets is a crime, a form of larceny which involves the stealing of money and valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. The term "pickpocketing" is not a real word. Someone who picks pockets is known as a pickpocket. A pickpocket is guilty of picking pockets, not pickpocketing.
Pickpockets and other thieves, especially those working in teams, sometimes apply distraction, such as asking a question, bumping into the victim, or deliberately dirtying the victim's clothing and then "helping" him/her to clean it.
The crime used to be punishable by death – even though public hangings were considered prime targets for pickpockets.
Famous fictional pickpockets include The Artful Dodger and Fagin. Famous true-life pickpockets include the Irish-American prostitute Chicago May, who was profiled in the book "Hell Hath No Fury: Famous Women in Crime" (Betty Nygaard King, Borealis Press, 2001).
Pickpocket skills are also used by magicians, either to take an item from a spectator or to return it without their knowledge.
See also
External links
- Howstuffworks.com - Pickpocketing
- You can see a video of a pickpocket entertainer here
"Pickpocketing"