Travel – Page 4 – Pickpocket Bob Arno

Sumela Monastery in Northern Turkey

I OFTEN COMPLAIN about too much travel. 250 days a year on the road, more or less, for 23 years non-stop. At the same time though, I appreciate my great fortune to see the world. As our work bounces us around the globe, I’ve been able to visit the most wondrous and remote sites. Petra in Jordan is one of those. Luxor in Egypt, Nan Madol in Pohnpei, Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, and Kilauea on Hawaii are others.

While in Trabzon in the northeast of Turkey recently, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Sumela Monastery, about 30 miles on up the Silk Road. The orthodox monastery is ancient, miraculously built and carved into a barely-accessible mountainside, and covered with frescoes. The journey to reach it was arduous, as it is to most of the truly awesome sites I’ve experienced. Long, challenging travel is a prerequisite for rarely-seen beautiful or historic spots. It is why they’re rarely seen and still (relatively) unruined.

We took a bus most of the way, up the mountain, along rushing streams and waterfalls, past mosques and cement-pond salmon farms. When the road became too steep for the bus we stopped near a large rustic restaurant set back in the forest.

There we transferred to a small van able to carry eight people. The driver scrutinized his passengers and pointed to three, gesturing that they must get out because the vehicle was too heavy. Slowly then, the van wound up the steep and narrow road, we remaining passengers eyeing one another nervously as the engine strained. Pulling our sweaters and scarves over our shoulders, we climbed up through the darkening cloud forest until this vehicle too, couldn’t go any higher. There it stopped and we were expelled on the side of the road.

Sumela Monastery

It was a good photo op. The monastery appeared distant and unreachably remote, clinging to the steep side of a dark, forested mountain, deep, misty valley straight below. A strenuous hike followed, up crude stone stairs, clambering over giant tree roots and slippery dirt trails deeper into the cloud forest, where it rains 280 days per year. We were lucky! No rain. The path was tricky and difficult, and would be a muddy mess in rain.

It was not unlike the Cinque Terre trails, actually, minus the sea views.

It had been 86 degrees in Trabzon, below; now it was 65 degrees at the monastery, at an altitude of almost 4,000 feet. The structures, first begun in 386 AD, include natural caves in the side of the mountain, niches hacked into the cliff walls, and additional stone buildings erected in the following centuries. There’s a rock church, a small chapel, kitchens, a library, various living spaces, a courtyard, and lookout points. Nearly all surfaces are covered by brilliant 18th-century frescoes. The monastery has been repeatedly destroyed, restored, enlarged, ruined, abandoned, and defaced.

I loved bending low through four-foot high archways and entering the cool painted caves where it was both dark and blinding from the harsh natural light that pierced tiny windows. It was heartbreaking to see the frescoes so badly damaged; it was wonderful to see how much remained of the frescoes. The remoteness of the site limits visitors (and despoilers), but there is almost no control or security. Even now, visitors may wander where they will.

Well, not now. Sumela Monastery is temporarily closed for repairs and restoration from September 2015 to September 2016.

I’m lucky to have visited when I did. Lucky to have visited at all! It was one of those experiences that truly defines the word amazing, and leaves me feeling so fortunate to see the remote corners of the world.

Hopefully, by the time Sumela Monastery reopens, Turkey will be peaceful and travel warnings will be lifted.

travel Turkey

Theft by Blocking

Similar to the Prague pickpocket teams I’ve written about but even more sophisticated, was a South American gang regularly devastating an intersection on Fifth Avenue in New York City. A famous jewelry store on that corner mounted an offensive which starred several high-powered video cameras. The gang was made up of Jenny—the dip, three blockers, and a stall. They worked the intersection for hours at a time with brazen confidence and utter impunity. Each time Jenny made an illicit withdrawal, she counted the money in her hand—right out in the open—and divvied it up among her cohorts while crossing the street behind their victim. That way, NYPD Detective Crawford said, if accused, no single member would be carrying too much cash. Well, they might be, considering they made up to $8,000 per day, according to Crawford.

Like the Prague gang, Jenny’s danced an intricate choreography practiced until it appeared effortless. Their maneuvers impeded the victims’ forward progress, but they often performed in motion as well, tightly clustered around a victim as they crossed the street together, Jenny with her hand groping in a pocket or purse, her assistants positioned to block the views of other pedestrians. They did not, however, block the view from above, where mounted surveillance cameras tracked them like hawks tracking mice. The gang was arrested and Jenny served three years in prison.

Theft by blocking

While impeding employs a brilliant strategy that is simplicity itself, an opportunity must present itself. Therefore, I consider it an avoidable theft. None of us need be victims of impeder-thieves. We’ve seen the impedance technique (theft by blocking) used at doorways, including bank and department store doors, at turnstiles, at the entries of trains and buses, and at already-existing bottlenecks on sidewalks. Prague’s Wenceslas Square has a beauty: a subway stairway in the middle of a sidewalk, which forces pedestrians into a narrow passage. Thieves are known to prey there. Revolving doors are also frequent settings, and there, the door itself does the impeding. A purse is snagged just as a woman disappears through the doorway, leaving her valuables exposed and she, stuck.

Subcategories of theft by blocking include those who work on public transportation, which I discuss in Chapter Six [of Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams], and those who script their teams like 30-second plays, tight as a television commercial, which I expose in Chapter Seven. In all impedence thefts, though, three ingredients are required: a stall who hinders the victim, a dip who extracts the goods, and accessible valuables. In other words, it’s preventable.

Excerpt from Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams
Chapter Five: Rip-Offs: Introducing… The Opportunist

pickpocket theft

How pickpockets pick victims

Picking before picking

Some pickpockets, Angelo for example, rifle full speed through as many pockets and purses as possible in a tight crowd. That’s his M.O. Others, like Kharem in Barcelona, look for a good bet before taking chances. Kharem wanted to show us his talent. We had to hold him back.

Barcelona pickpocket Kharem guided us on a thief’s tour of La Rambla.

“Just point and talk,” Bob instructed him.

But he did more than that. Brazen and fearless, he actually tapped on men’s pockets as we fast-walked through the crowd. No one seemed to notice. Nobody gave him a second glance. Kharem, the professional thief, slipped in and out of strangers’ personal spheres like a gnat through a window screen.

How pickpockets pick victims

“Most important is to figure out where the money is. Pants, jacket, waist pouch, backpack. That man has a fat wallet in his jacket pocket,” the pickpocket said, while the would-be victim was still several yards away. “See how his jacket is hanging unevenly.” He swept his thumbtip across his forehead in that odd gesture of his.

“And this man,” Kharem touched the thigh of a stranger. “He has loose cash. Very good. Very easy.”

Read one of our interviews with Kharem, and about that thumbtip thing.
Read how Kharem steals at the airport.
Read how we first met Angelo in 2004.
Read about Angelo-the-family-celebrity in 2014.
See Angelo in the National Geographic documentary Pickpocket King.

Excerpt from Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams
Chapter Five: Rip-Offs: Introducing… The Opportunist

Barcelona pickpocket spain thieves

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

In my previous post, I discussed the tedious and methodical research we do before slamming a city for high numbers in pickpocketing, bag snatching, and/or mugging. Barcelona, sad to say, is one of those. We renewed our Barcelona research in late October 2015 and here offer seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets. Although these are presented with Barcelona in mind, they are good practice for most travel to areas unfamiliar to you, or when visiting areas known for pickpocket action.

Case in point: Barcelona. Its reputation for robbery has deteriorated steadily over the years, and rightly so. Television news programs and sensational newspaper stories featured every conceivable petty crime perpetrated on tourists and business visitors. Some not so petty, with women being dragged to the ground and breaking hips and arms during bag snatches. On the other hand, Barcelona is one of the most charming and pleasant destinations in the world, equally loved by young and old. Bambi and I love Barcelona, let’s make that clear, so it’s sad to have to report that crime is still very high compared to other European cities. But worst? No, I wouldn’t go that far.

One can avoid becoming a victim when visiting Barcelona and it’s not that complicated or challenging. No need for complete lifestyle changes—just a few simple precautionary steps, and you’ll increase the likelihood of a safe visit by many, many multiples.

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

1. Pouches. Wear a small travel security pouch under your clothing (either under your shirt, or hanging by a loop attached your belt and inside your pants). This is especially important if you intend to use the local metro system during rush hours.

2. Cash. Don’t carry much cash (you decide the meaning of much)—but remember most of the small cafes and restaurants do not accept credit cards (strange but true, especially in the markets).

3. Passport. Do not walk around with your passport in a pocket. Make a color copy of the first page and carry the copy (and it’s good to have when you fill in tax refund forms, if you live outside the EU).

4. Cynicism. Don’t trust anyone who approaches in order to assist you with documents, maps, cleaning off some gooey stuff that seems to have dropped on your clothes, or even police who request to inspect your currency (they’re “pseudo cops,” fakes). Yes, it means being cynical, but also civil. The majority of people you’ll come into contact with want you to leave Barcelona thinking positively about their city. If you need assistance you’ll ask a local, who will almost certainly be kind and helpful. If you are approached by a good samaritan-type unbidden, stir up that cynicism and use caution.

5. Handbags. Don’t carry elegant handbags on thin straps which can be easily grabbed and broken, especially on the narrow streets off La Rambla. Never hang your purse or bag on the back of a chair in a public place. Neither should you place it on the floor in a restaurant. Out of sight, out of control.

6. Mobile phones. Your mobile phone is very attractive to a pickpocket. The thieves have many techniques specifically designed to relieve you of your phone. Some of these techniques are simple, yet work effectively even on sophisticated travelers who consider themselves savvy.

7. Research. Finally, you can increase or decrease the threat factor by adjusting your behavior and your perception of the surroundings. Travel is always unpredictable, leading to delight at one moment, or knocking you off balance at another. You must be prepared, and take responsibility for your own safety and security. Research these issues before embarking on your trip. For example, search online for the most common scams and tricks that may be played on you when hitting new ground. This advice is important for every new travel destination.

You can avoid almost all of the most common pickpocketing methods and save yourself from pickpockets if you follow the seven rules above. Remember, the thieves read you and go for the least aware. They’ll head for the easiest opportunities. Don’t make yourself easy picking. It’s easy to defeat these pickpockets. The locals do.

Stay tuned. In my next post, Barcelona Pickpocket Scene Today, I will present my findings from my October 2015 research trip to Barcelona.

Barcelona pickpocket spain thieves

Worst cities for pickpocketing?

We are often asked which are the worst cities for pickpocketing. It always seems the correspondent or the journalist hopes that we will confirm a preconceived notion or rumored list of the ten worst cities where crime runs rampant. It makes for good sensational journalism, I guess, or easy-to-grasp stories and headlines. But we hate to support poorly researched lists or to disparage a particular city just because petty crime may be high in certain areas. We prefer balanced evaluations and a deeper understanding of the threat to an informed traveler.

Also, we’d hate to see a traveler dissuaded from visiting a city in reaction to one of these silly articles. The fact is, a little precaution and travel-savviness should be enough to defeat a distraction thief and stay many steps ahead of the bad guys. The key is information, which leads to an understanding of how the thieves think and act, and how they select their marks. It is always the uninformed who become the victims.

Harder to avoid are muggers and the grab-and-run thieves. They work on the principle of speed and are often brutal and vicious in their techniques. A pickpocket depends on psychological manipulation and distraction, from which you can defend yourself. But avoiding a mugger requires more planning, local research (think hotel lobby concierge), or simply staying away from certain districts. The time of day and location determine the threat factor.

Worst cities for pickpocketing

Is there any truth to those infamous lists of “the ten worst cities for pickpocketing”? That depends on what is meant by the word “worst.” Honest and accurate crime statistics are extremely hard to come by, and even the word “pickpocket” must be defined carefully. Police commissioners, local politicians, tourist ministry officials and the hotel industry in general are not fond of releasing statistics which cast a dubious sheen on their profession. It is also difficult to compare a small city like Naples to a much larger city like Barcelona, or city center districts frequented by tourists, versus an entire city and all its transportation system, including neighboring airports.

What is certain beyond any shadow of a doubt is that Paris, Rome, and Barcelona rank as high risk cities in any pickpocket list; maybe also London. So how do we measure this and how do we find the latest trends? There is only one way really, and that is feet on the ground. We revisit cities on a regular basis, usually annually, and do diligent research.

To get to the real truth we immerse ourselves for a at least a few days with law enforcement, hotel security staff, and local security experts at the cities’ popular attractions. Whenever possible, we also speak with the thieves themselves. We speak with victims on location, and those who post comments on this blog. The combined research gives us a pretty good idea of what is changing for the better or for the worst from one year to another. Tedious work, yes, but also enlightening and interesting to see how cities tackle petty crime—with aggressive new techniques or, worse, indirectly blaming the tourists themselves for not being more careful or observant. Shifting the blame!

Case in point: Barcelona. Its reputation for robbery has deteriorated steadily over the years, and rightly so. Television news programs and sensational newspaper stories featured every conceivable petty crime perpetrated on tourists and business visitors. Some not so petty, with women being dragged to the ground and breaking hips and arms during bag snatches. On the other hand, Barcelona is one of the most charming and pleasant destinations in the world, equally loved by young and old. Bambi and I love Barcelona, let’s make that clear, so it’s sad to have to report that crime is still very high compared to other European cities. But worst? No, I wouldn’t go that far.

One can avoid becoming a victim when visiting Barcelona and it’s not that complicated or challenging. No need for complete lifestyle changes—just a few simple precautionary steps, and you’ll increase the likelihood of a safe visit by many, many multiples.

Stay tuned. In my next post, I will present:

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

And after that: Barcelona Pickpocket Scene Today.

Barcelona pickpocket spain thieves

Theft on a train

Christine boarded a train in Cologne, Germany, to travel to Frankfurt. Approaching her first class seat, she saw a man in the seat opposite hers with his head on his arms on the table, probably dozing.

Next, she noticed two young men walking in the aisle near her seat. Unconsciously, her mind flashed about the first guy: “What a handsome face.” Then: “Strange that he carries his stuff in a plastic grocery bag.” Then: “Yet he’s in the first class carriage.” Then, about the guy directly behind him: “Is that a USB cord dangling from the phone in his hand?”

All this before she even sat down.

Immediately then, her sleeping seatmate jerked awake and lunged for the handsome-faced guy.

The guy had grabbed the man’s phone, which had been plugged in, and the man had felt the cord pull away.

Theft on a train

Christine watched the two grapple and saw a beer bottle flailing wildly, beer spraying everywhere. She wondered if the beer bottle would become a weapon. She stood there, watching the men, not knowing if she should help physically or not, while the victim was screaming for the police. Seconds later, a pair of civil police officers jumped aboard and arrested the boy.

One officer handcuffed the boy and lead him off the train. The other settled in with the victim across the table from Christine. Christine was asked to be a witness, but she had to admit that she hadn’t seen the actual grab.

As the train pulled out of the station, the police officer took a statement from the victim, which is how Christine came to know certain details, for example, that the thief was from Morocco.

Christine did not know how the police managed to arrive within seconds, but I think I do. I believe the police had had an eye on the boy and had expected him to make a move like this. I believe they were trailing him (as Bob and I do when we’re thiefhunting) due to his behavior. Trains are favorite territory for thieves, and though some use diversion and strategy, many are simply of the grab-and-run variety. There is so much pickpocketing and bag-snatching on trains that many countries have dedicated train (or transport) police forces.

We, as passengers, simply need to practice safe stowage of our stuff to thwart the bulk of the theft. That means placing valuables in more protected places, and realizing that a train car is not a safe haven. Anyone can come aboard. Often, they don’t raise eyebrows as these young men did. Bad guys infiltrate our perceived refuges and have free rein, like a wolf in sheep’s clothes. Highly successful thieves look like lawyers, like businessmen, dressing the part, with polished shoes and handsome briefcases. Working with police as we do, we are privileged to see photos of many of these, but we are not allowed to post them.

The thief’s goal would have been to steal something and get off the train before it pulled out of the station, putting instant distance between him and his victim. Thieves are not rocket surgeons, however, and do not realize that their behavior highlights them in neon yellow to trained eyes.

Now here’s the irony: Christine is a television host. She was on her way to Rome to shoot a story on pickpockets, with us.

Nice beginning of her trip, eh?

Germany pickpocket Rome thieves train

Pickpocket Pickpockets Pickpocket Policeman

Pickpocket police; "Vic," a pickpocket policeman from Xxxx, visiting Paris.

No, Bob Arno was not the thief in this incident.

It happened on the Paris Metro at the Chatelet station. The thief was a woman. The victim, a pickpocket policeman who, you might say, should have known better than to leave his wallet vulnerable. But, as Bob and I say, it can happen to anyone.

To prevent further embarrassment, I’ve promised to conceal the identity of the victim, so I will simply call him Vic, from an unnamed European country. It was his first visit to Paris (no excuse), and he hadn’t been in town more than two hours.

Bob and I had organized an international meeting of particularly passionate pickpocket police officers. We all converged in Paris early last month.

Vic and Officer GM, from Germany, landed simultaneously in Paris, and took a train together to Gare de Lyon, where they met up with Bob and the Paris pickpocket police officers. Now all of them rode the Metro—a whole gang of pickpocket police. Vic and GM dragged their small suitcases.

Pickpocket Pickpockets Pickpocket Policeman

The train stopped at Chatelet, only one station from Gare de Lyon. Chatelet is one of the Metro stations known for heavy pickpocket action. Out of habit, Bob and the officers stood on the train at the door, where they could keep an eye on people coming and going.

Vic and GM immediately spotted a pair of pickpockets, and kept their eyes on the thieves. (Police-style: not staring.) Vic was focused on what was happening in front of him and didn’t think that there were more thieves on the train. He didn’t pay attention to what was behind him. He had his back to the door, and his large frame blocked a portion of the other guys’ view. Just before the train pulled out of the station, GM caught a glimpse of a perp and saw her dash away, stowing a wallet. The train doors closed. GM had not seen who she stole it from. He did not for a second think the victim was his fellow officer. Since the pickpocket was gone, he didn’t mention anything to the others. The police gang rode on, still in the midst of making one another’s acquaintance.

Checking into the hotel, Vic reached for his satchel to get his wallet. The wallet was gone. It was a large-format, European-style wallet; too big for a back pocket. (Not a safe place to keep a wallet anyway, especially on public transportation.) In a cold sweat, Vic did an instantaneous inventory of the wallet’s contents. 250 euros. His driver’s license. His credit cards. His annual train pass. His passport. His police identification card.

Surrounded by his pickpocket police pals in the hotel lobby, Vic couldn’t hide the shameful fact. Without identification or a method of payment, he couldn’t even get his hotel room. Suddenly, Vic understood the humiliation and helplessness felt by the pickpocket victims he assisted. Despite his steep loss and embarrassment, he saw the experience as beneficial to his job. Vic is a happy and optimistic man, who always recognizes silver linings. “I’m always able to find some lesson from misfortune, and I don’t mind admitting my own mistakes,” he told me. With loans from his friends, he took the incident in stride and laughed about the irony.

Pickpocket police; Vic's wallet, stolen and returned — Vic’s wallet, stolen and returned

Around dinnertime, Vic received great news: his wallet had been found, all documents intact, only the cash missing. Thanks to his police ID, his police station had been notified. His colleagues knew he was with the Paris police and notified them. Paris police contacted their pickpocket specialists, who were with Vic. The wallet was in his hands by morning.

All of these anti-pickpocket professionals were chagrined. Thiefhunters all, each felt he should have noticed the perp and prevented the theft. While there isn’t a valid excuse for Vic’s own lapse, there is a bit of an explanation. The group, or at least part of the group, appeared to be tourists, and tourists are the pickpockets’ favorite target. The men spoke a mixture of German and English, not French, the local language. GM and Vic had luggage, like tourists. And, here’s the pivotal fact: Vic’s shoulder bag had briefly swung to his back, where it was vulnerable.

“At the right time, the right place, the right moment, anyone can become a victim of theft, ” Vic said. Anyone can lose focus for a few seconds, be distracted, or let a bag swing out of sight. Even a pickpocket policeman.

A moment at risk; just seconds unprotected. That’s all it takes.

Pickpocket foiled on Rome train

Dear Bambi and Bob,

July 26th, 2015 was a typical hot summer day in Rome. My family and I decided to visit the Bhorgese Museum on the north end of the city. Having thoroughly enjoyed the gallery and garden, we made our way to Spagna metro stop to pick up the A line to back to the center of Rome.

This is when it got interesting. There was a throng of people waiting to get on the train. All of the warning signs were there that this was a pickpocketer’s dream. As we pushed through the doorway like some giant human amoeba, I recalled feeling a slight brush; a nudge, a hand, a map being pushed against me. Whatever it was, it made me instinctively put my hand on my iphone in my left pocket.

Pickpocket Foiled

Imagine my surprise to find someone else’s fingers firmly levitating my iphone. I turned to the left and pushed back against the mousey devil behind me and told him to keep his hand off my phone. Sure enough, I noticed he had been poking an old tourist map at my waist, attempting to conceal his bad intentions.

I felt a surge of adrenaline and indignation, as I loudly proclaimed our fellow passenger a pickpocket, to which, all turned and gazed upon him (awkward moment).

Still bothered by his trickery, I thought to myself, time for a close-up picture of my failed pickpocketer friend. This, of course, made him uncomfortable. I noticed that he attempted to cover his face with the map. Leaving no doubt about his mal intent, he rapidly exited the train at the next stop to a smattering of applause.

I felt vindicated and empowered—He had failed! He picked the wrong target. Though I looked the part of average tourist with my baseball cap on, I’m probably the worst person to try this foolishness with. You see, I have spent the last 25 years studying the subtle details of those molecular pickpockets, Viruses, which take over cells that they slip into. I’m used to analyzing every last detail about small things.

He couldn’t have known that he picked the wrong guy. But since he is just like the viruses that I study, I couldn’t help but have many questions about this fellow; How? Why? Does he feel any moral dilemma with his craft? I even felt a bit of a thrill after foiling my pickpocketer. No doubt, I enjoy this high-stakes game. I’m ready to troll for the next one when I’m in Rome again.

Dr. Virus

P.S. Love your website. Keep it up. If the Rome Police won’t do anything about it, at least we can expose the threat. I think the best thing to do is to take pictures of these people and post them online.

Italy pickpocket Rome thieves train

Stockholm beggars incite political daring

Stockholm beggars: A political message about beggars in Stockholm's Östermalmstorg subway station.

Stockholm beggars, still clogging streets, store entrances, and subway entrances throughout the city, reflect a problem all of Sweden is experiencing. The beggars come primarily from Romania and employ such identical passive approaches that it’s hard to believe they aren’t shown, by some phantom figure (boss), exactly what they are to do.

Stockholm beggars

I wrote extensively about beggars in Stockholm a year ago, describing links between these beggars and organized crime syndicates in Romania. I then traveled to Romania to further research organized crime and human trafficking of beggars (and pickpockets). The comments posted to these articles, and others, reveal the divisive split among Swedes who, as a friend of mine quips, are either beggar-huggers or xenophobes.

Thus, the stage is set for a polarizing political agenda, which the Sweden Democrat Party has just taken to a new venue: the Stockholm subway system. There, bold text in English begins:

“Sorry about the mess here in Sweden. We have a serious problem with forced begging. International gangs profit from people’s desperation. Goverment [sic] won’t do what’s needed. But we will!”

The party has taken this anti-begging platform to the subway platform where, ironically, one is likely to have just witnessed the very subject of the platform immediately before coming face to typeface with its blatant message. One must step around at least one sprawling beggar at virtually every subway door.

Why is this audacious political message in English? Why is it in the subway at all? Well, the public transport system can’t discriminate among advertisers, so it can’t stop the ad campaign. And though the ad pretends to inform foreign visitors, it is obviously speaking to Swedish voters (who practically all speak English).

If you visited Sweden four or more years ago, you doubtless remember the pristine condition of public and private spaces. One can’t help but notice the stark difference today. Beggars languish here and there on pavements made filthy with dark stains. Stuffed black trash bags are piled near each beggar, sometimes in baby strollers or shopping carts. Laundry is spread on the ground around some beggars, along with beverage cups, food packets, and blankets. The areas they squat look like mini-slums.

The message in the subway specifically targets forced begging, which is the heart of the controversy in Sweden. Are these beggars organized and trafficked by crime bosses? Or are they desperately poor, unable to get help in their home countries, and seeking a better life in a rich nation full of possibilities? Or are they seeking a lifetime of handouts with no intention to immerse themselves in a new culture, learn the language, seek gainful employment?

The beggar-huggers must believe that all these East European beggars—all several thousand of them—came as sole and separate individuals; and that each is uneducated, each unable to work—yet each has organized herself (most of these beggars are women), traveled herself, found her own begging place and sleeping place, her own laminated family photo to display… It’s impossible to imagine these passive women, who at most now whimper “hej-hej” (hello) to passersby, mustering the gumption to attempt such an international endeavor.

The xenophobes blame immigrants for the mess. Others cry racial foul. But the hatred isn’t for an ethnic group—it’s for a work ethic. Begging has been a rare phenomenon in Sweden, therefore arousing real sympathy. Altruistic Swedes readily opened their purses. Now, with a beggar on every corner and ubiquitous rumblings of organization by crime syndicates, Swedes are uncertain, confused, afraid to trust their innate generosity, and afraid of what others will think of them if they don’t.

beggar Stockholm Sweden

Venice pickpockets

Venice pickpockets are identified on a poster taped up all over Venice. Take a good look and you’ll realize it’s pretty hopeless to identify and avoid them by face alone. They look like any women. Italian? Maybe. Foreign tourist? Sure.

The crowds are thick and move slowly through the narrow Venetian alleys. Families with strollers are road blocks, and day-trippers laden with shopping bags bump along causing bottlenecks with their wide loads. Oglers, window-shoppers, umbrella-hoisting tour leaders of the timid, hoards of school children, and counterfeit bag sellers all slow the flow of traffic to less than a crawl.

Good news for the pickpocket! For a pickpocket, the only situation better than a tight crowd is a tight crowd that can’t move.

Venice pickpockets

And yet, somehow, the wily, invisible thief insinuates herself in amongst the happy, distracted people, the hot and bothered people, and slips away like that elusive kernel in the popcorn bowl.

Pickpocketing is not a natural phenomenon in this island labyrinth. Without the crowds, it’s a city unsuitable for escape, and too expensive in which to live.

Venice pickpockets vigilantes

Venice has a vigilante-sort of group, developed in 1996, called “Cittadini non Distratti,” (Undistracted Citizens). Made up of retired businessmen, it had about 400 members some years ago when Bob and I met its founder. They are the eyes and ears against pickpockets, since the paid police do not do anything. Shop merchants and locals call one of ten “operatives” when they see pickpockets or suspicious characters. Operatives zoom over quickly and investigate, then call the police pickpocket squad (which used to be a force of six. Without checking, I’m willing to bet there are no dedicated officers left at all). Renato Serena, back then head of the group, had handcuffs, a sort-of badge he flashed, and the quasi-authority to arrest. Locals prefer to call the vigilante group over the police because of all the governmental red tape, reports, redundancy, going down to station.

The Municipale Police are only interested in Venice, Signore Serena told us, not in Italy or Europe. The squad can’t really arrest or jail; they “just open the door to the next city so the problem become’s someone else’s.”

Serena claimed that the pickpockets were 90% Romanians—even way back then. They can’t afford to live in Venice, but stay with friends in apartments on the mainland with the gang leader. The boss, he said, makes a lot of money and owns a restaurant and hotel back in Romania. After the leader was deported to Romania, the pickpocket gang was not as successful. The leader had guided the team, telling them when/where/who to hit.

The past few years, Cittadini non Distratti has complained that pickpocketing in Venice is getting much worse.

In July 2013, the frustrated group announced that they were photographing known pickpockets and posting their pictures around the city. According to recent news reports, Cittadini non Distratti is still active, still saving tourists from pickpockets.

Italy pickpocket thieves Venice

PICKPOCKETS, CON ARTISTS, GANGSTERS, THIEVES, AND TRAVEL

Sumela Monastery in Northern Turkey

Sumela Monastery

Theft by Blocking

Theft by blocking

How pickpockets pick victims

Picking before picking

How pickpockets pick victims

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

Worst cities for pickpocketing?

Worst cities for pickpocketing

Seven simple rules to save yourself from pickpockets

Theft on a train

Theft on a train

Pickpocket Pickpockets Pickpocket Policeman

Pickpocket Pickpockets Pickpocket Policeman

Pickpocket foiled on Rome train

Pickpocket Foiled

Venice pickpockets

Venice pickpockets

Venice pickpockets vigilantes

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