Lock ’em up!
Kim Thomas, a Vegas cop, posted a telling comment on crime statistics, and criminal rehabilitation vs. incarceration. Detective Thomas is the author of Vegas:…
Tourists and thieves: a collision course
Yoshi Sugohara stood stoic and penniless in a phone booth, using our phone card. He called a number given him by the Rome police,…
Barcelona street crime
Yannick Laclau wrote about Barcelona, a city that Bob and I love. But Yannick’s news was a sad consequence of the ostrich hiding its…
Guilty as charged
And the charges are: against him, breaking and entering; against his sister, poisoning by E.coli. It started with a loud thud in the dead…
Pockets and purses
Pockets and purses and those who pick them. I’ve posted two new pages: Pocketology 101 and Purseology 101. I’m thinking of adding video to…
Honolulu Hong Kong
I’ve never understood the logic of this neck contraption. It pushes the head forward—but for sleeping, wouldn’t you rather have your head back? If…
Holiday headspace
I remember when I used to hunt for wild mushrooms in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I’d find nothing the first hour or so. But…
How to steal a Rolex, Part 5 of 5
Naples, Italy— After lunch, Mario must leave us and we four are left to stumble through the dangerous quarter accompanied only by pidgin. Officer…
How to steal a Rolex, Part 4 of 5
Naples, Italy—Mario is not only intelligently fluent in English and Italian–he is interested in the conversation. He excavates the essence when Officer DC expounds…
How to steal a Rolex, Part 3 of 5
Naples, Italy— For most of this day, we’ve been accompanied by Mario, a friend and fabulous translator. Born in Italy, educated in Australia, now…
How to steal a Rolex, Part 2 of 5
Naples, Italy— We’re introduced to AS, tattooed and be-dogged, in front of his female family members. Women of several generations sit in plastic chairs…
How to steal a Rolex
Rolex theft Naples, Italy— Here’s something you didn’t know about Rolex theft. It takes two men to steal a new model Rolex, while the…
X-ray glasses
High and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-g, Travel Advisory— Barcelona, a fusion of passion and creativity, chaos and order, where…
Souvenirs
As Bob and I travel the world in our role as thiefhunters, we hang with outlaws and shady characters. The Tiger Lillies sing songs…
Debauch
Terry, on a slow and controlled Orwell kick, quoted a couple of paragraphs on debauchery. I guess considering it was 1946, Orwell can be…
Feeding security-types
Ever the facilitators, Bob and I hosted dinner for a few security types the other night. Attending were Jo and Willy Allison, who put…
One man
High and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-f, Travel Advisory — One man loses his wallet. It’s a small crime, a…
Looking up
My Mac’s power cord is stretched taut. I’m on my patio on a glorious spring day. Just a little too windy for my taste,…
Call the bunco squad
In Orlando, Bob and I attended a four-day NABI training seminar–that’s the National Association of Bunco Investigators. Don’t you love the word bunco? More…
A map of quivering jelly
In school, I didn’t pay much attention to geography. This pretty much fits the American selfcentric stereotype. I did eventually learn the difference between…
An ordinary day in the center of Rome
High and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-e, Travel Advisory — A somber crowd was gathered outside the police station. While…
Shocking statistics
Every single summer day, one hundred tourists will be pickpocketed near the Coliseum in Rome; another hundred will be hit near the Spanish Steps,…
Bottomfeeders of the criminal hierarchy
High and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-c, Travel Advisory Bob and I hit the ground and I squinted at the…
Maui and Majuro
Pacific O Chef McDonald had a farm, EIEIO. We had a gorgeous dinner in Lahaina last week, outdoors, on the beach, hibiscus blossoms in…
Thievery, connery, scamdom, and swindlehood
High and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-b, Travel Advisory If law enforcement can’t turn the trend, perhaps Bob and I…
Get your * hand out of my pocket!
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Get your fucking hand out of my pocket! You try to steal my wallet again and I’ll kill you!” The would-be…
A cultural gaffe
I’m a world traveler, right? A “jet-setter,” some say. No arrogance here — just a fact. So how did I make such a cultural…
Criminal on the loose
Evening. A sudden, deafening heartbeat jars my bones, and a vague anxiety revisits. The helicopter is back. Hovering low, its searchlight swings over my…
The travel industry’s dirty little secret
Bob and I contend that the crimes of street thieves, so often dubbed “petty,” are not that at all. First, tally the sheer number…
Thieves categorized
“Criminals are born, not made. Delinquency is a physiological abnormality.” So said Cesare Lombroso, Italian professor of forensic medicine and psychology, in 1875. After…