Foreigners in Las Vegas
My Swedish brother-in-law came to visit us in Las Vegas. While Bob and I were off on a trip, he decided to upgrade our…
Video surveillance
Who’s looking at you when you buy a coffee? It’s creepy, when you know all they can see. At the World Game Protection Conference…
Street crime in Rome
In a quick visit to Rome last month, Bob and I found it pretty quiet on the streets, theft-wise. Granted, we only spent a…
Bambi + Las Vegas = stripper
“Bambi? In Las Vegas? Really? Are you a stripper? [Guffaw.]” If your name is Bambi and you live in Las Vegas, these, apparently, are…
Bob Arno’s path to pickpocketing
At the fork in the road I went left. I can thank the Parsis for my passion for photojournalism. Another man might have turned…
Bag snatch at the outdoor café
What’s more charming than a leisurely break at an outdoor café? Coffee, a beer, a glass of wine, maybe lunch… You chat with friends…
Acoustic and luminous
Maybe it’s a good idea to change the subject. Too much Barcelona negativity. So how ’bout, instead, I share a sign I saw at…
Beware women with cardboard
Barcelona, Spain—They look like any ordinary girls, right? Walking down La Rambla, tossing their long braids, empty hands swinging casually. We only saw this…
Swift swiper strikes
Barcelona, Spain—We’re walking along Carrer de Ferran, a block off La Rambla. Instead of paying attention to the street scene, I’m looking for a…
Pigeon poop pickpocket
Barcelona, Spain—The Pigeon Poop Pickpocket got me with a double-blob on my back. I felt it ever-so-lightly and knew instantly we’d been accosted by…
A pickpocket technique updated
Barcelona, Spain—We found Kharem again on La Rambla. He passed us head-on, with a huge smile. He didn’t notice us, but I recognized him….
Barcelona street crime today
Three female thieves with cardboard shields; two thefts from a park; one pigeon poop pickpocket; one postcard technique theft; one very prolific, multi-talented pickpocket;…
Social engineering vs. security theater
For a cross-country flight, I packed a lunch of deconstructed sandwiches. Slices of homemade walnut bread, a handful of arugula, a tomato, and a…
Shoebox-camera
Over the years we minimized our equipment as we acquired smaller and smaller cameras of broadcast quality. With lighter equipment we became more maneuverable,…
Release gripes
I did not intend to dwell on random negativity here, but when I came across this sign a few days ago, I took it…
Getting used to robot speech
I’ve been listening to essays by George Orwell. Terry, a voracious reader, devoured Orwell after Proust and Vidal, and he’s now working on Paul…
Ceiling critters
What is on my ceiling? Looks like a thumbprint—gray, like newsprint. Except… my kitchen ceiling is the cottage cheese type. A thumbprint isn’t possible….
Naples: capital city of pickpockets, part 4 of 4
City of Hugs and Thugs. Naples, Italy— At the next stop, two more suspects pushed on beside me. The bus remained crowded all the…
Naples: capital city of pickpockets, part 3 of 4
City of Hugs and Thugs. Naples, Italy— We left Angelo and wandered around the corner, through the fish and produce market for a while….
Naples: capital city of pickpockets, part 2 of 4
City of Hugs and Thugs. Naples, Italy— Bob and I estimate that we saw 50 to 60 pickpockets in two hours on the trams…
A better way to celebrate birthdays
birthday invitation to my family and friends: please join me in opting out of the birthday-present tradition. Why do we deserve presents on our…
Naples: capital city of pickpockets
City of Hugs and Thugs. Naples, Italy— Friday morning we had a friend take pictures of Bob and me getting onto crowded trams. A…
Invitation to steal
Bob and I must not be working hard enough. We’re just not getting the message out. We had a very good dinner at the…
Baby thieves
…continuing the story Tourists and thieves: a collision course ROME POLICE OFFICER CELINI remembered us from previous visits and greeted us warmly. Without asking,…
Chinese torture contraption ?
Can anyone tell me what this contraption is? I took this picture through a window in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, after a dinner at…
Wanna be a pickpocket ?
Bob gets fan mail, especially from teenage boys who want to do what he does. We used to get a slew of them every…
Cougars loose in Chicago, Scottsdale AZ
A cougar on the loose in Chicago today met its unfortunate end, poor thing. Was it stalking an epicurean meal, or lost in a…
Legal lay-offs
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that law firms are curtailing their associate programs. Some are delaying the start dates of new hires, and some…
Istanbul pickpockets & Turkish ice cream
Turkey Vultures—We’re off duty in Istanbul, so we roam around the Grand Bazaar, buy a shawl, buy a cd, seize photo opportunities. We go…
Filming pickpockets
Bob and I began our field research on street thievery in 1993, when we quit our steady jobs in Las Vegas to combine freelancing…