The activity of the pick-pockets of New York is very great, and they
oftentimes make large "hauls" in the practice of their trade. It is said
that there are about 300 of them in the city, though the detectives state
their belief that the number is really larger and increasing. Scarcely a
day passes without the police authorities receiving numerous complaints
from respectable persons of losses by pick-pockets.
On all the street cars, you will see the sign, "_Beware of
Pick-pockets!_" posted conspicuously, for the purpose of warning
passengers. These wretches work in gangs of two, or three or four. They
make their way into crowded cars, and rarely leave them without bringing
away something of value. An officer will recognize them at once. He
sees a well-known pickpocket obstructing the car entrance; another
pickpocket is abusing him in the sharpest terms for doing so, while, at
the same time, he is eagerly assisting a respectable gentleman, or a
well-dressed lady, to pass the obstruction. One or two other
pick-pockets stand near. All this is as intelligible to a police officer
as the letters on a street sign. He knows that the man, who is assisting
the gentleman or lady, is picking his or her pocket; he knows that the
man who obstructs the entrance is his confederate; he knows that the
others, who are hanging about, will receive the contents of the
pocket-book as soon as their principal has abstracted the same. He
cannot arrest them, however, unless he, or some one else, sees the act
committed; but they will not remain long after they see him--they will
take the alarm, as they know his eye is on them, and leave the car as
soon as possible.
A lady, riding in an omnibus, discovers that she has lost her purse,
which she knows was in her possession when she entered the stage. A
well-dressed gentleman sits by her, whose arms are quietly crossed before
him, and his fingers, encased in spotless kid gloves, are entwined in his
lap, in plain sight of all the passengers, who are sure that he has not
moved them since he entered the stage. Several persons have entered and
left the vehicle, and the lady, naturally supposing one of them to be the
thief, gets out to consult a policeman as to her best course. The
officer could tell her, after a glance at the faultless gentleman who was
her neighbor, that the arms so conspicuously crossed in his lap, are
false, his real arms all the time being free to operate under the folds
of his talma. The officer would rightly point him out as the thief.
The ferry-boats which go and come crowded with passengers, the theatres,
and even the churches, are all frequented by pickpockets, who reap rich
harvests from them. Persons wearing prominent shirt pins or other
articles of jewelry frequently lose them in this way, and these wretches
will often boldly take a purse out of a lady's hand or a bracelet from
her arm, and make off. If the robbery be done in the midst of a crowd,
the chance of escape is all the better.
The street car conductors complain that they can do nothing to check the
depredations of the pick-pockets. If they are put off the cars, they
exert themselves to have the conductors discharged, and are generally
possessed of influence enough to accomplish their ends. Strange as this
may seem, it is true, for the pick-pocket is generally employed by the
city politicians to manage the rougher class at the elections. In return
for the influence which they thus exert the pick-pockets receive payment
in money, and are shielded from punishment if unlucky enough to be
arrested. Both parties are responsible for this infamous course, the
party in power usually making the greatest use of these scoundrels. This
is the cause of the confidence with which thieves of this kind carry on
their trade. Those who desire the city's welfare will find food for
reflection in this fact.
Many of the pick-pockets are women, whose lightness and delicacy of touch
make them dangerous operators. Others are boys. These are usually
termed "kids," and are very dangerous, as people are not inclined to
suspect them. They work in gangs of three or four, and, pushing against
their victim, seize what they can, and make off. Sometimes one of this
gang is arrested, but as he has transferred the plunder to his
confederates, who have escaped, there is no evidence against him.