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.

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.