Bob and I interviewed “Pedro” in Paris a few months ago. We first saw him at a coffee bar inside Gare de Lyon, a huge train station. To us, it was clear that he was observing someone. We watched and waited a short distance away. Eventually Pedro abandoned his prey, but we were certain enough of his profession. Bob pounced on him as he was leaving the station, chatting him up.

Surprisingly, Pedro spoke good English. For 20 minutes out in the streets, Bob stuck to him like glue trying to convince him to talk to us. I tailed the two of them, first from a distance, then joining up. Unable to get rid of us, Pedro nervously asked for our IDs.

“Maybe you’re a cop,” he said to Bob.

“But I don’t look like a cop.”

“Nobody looks like a cop. Maybe you’re somebody that works with a cop.” Pedro fake-laughed. ”What do you want,” he repeated. And, giving up on denials: “How did you find me?”

“I’ve followed you for an hour,” Bob said, clearly shocking and confusing Pedro. “Talk to me. You’ll enjoy it!”

“Okay, we’ll talk, and I’m going to tell you the truth. You grow in this job. You start to feel who sees you, who’s watching. That’s why I’m surprised you followed me.”

“What do you want most out of life, other than money?” Bob asked as Pedro led us to a nearby brasserie.

“Education for my child in Peru.”

We settled into the booth with the least noise and best light. Pedro asked the staff to lower the music volume. Bob ordered lunch for himself. Pedro ordered orange juice. Bob and I quickly set up an array of video cameras to film Pedro, with his permission, only from the back. Then we got started.

A pickpocket’s story

Call me Pedro. I’ve never used drugs. No one else in my family does this job. I have a daughter—we talk on the phone. She doesn’t know my work. I’m nervous when I work, all the time. But you have to control it.

In France, the first time you’re arrested, you probably won’t go to jail. The second time, maybe. The third time, you will go, maybe for three months. It depends: if you work alone, it’s not too bad. If you are working with three or four, it’s a gang and you go to jail for longer, maybe one year.

The amount of money I make varies. It depends on many factors. The place is very important. If you want to make money, you have to go to the big hotels, the five-stars. You use psychology, so you’re not suspected. You must be well-dressed. If you look like a good man, the person working the doors doesn’t keep you out. You are a good man! You have to feel like a good man to avoid security.

The real money is in the airports, the train stations, the big hotels, the nice hotels, the 5-stars… that’s my work. Sometimes I go on trains while they’re in the station, waiting for someone to put a bag down. But only before the train leaves. I don’t ride on the train.

Wait, someone’s calling me—it’s my wife.
[Pedro, smiling, speaks Spanish, describes us to the person on the phone.]

I was in Gare de Lyon today because I was following somebody. I might follow someone 20 minutes, one hour, if I’m working by myself.

When judging a victim, I look at their baggage and their shoes. But good shoes alone are not enough. Sometimes people have a lot of cash because they don’t pay tax. The black people, the Chinese, the Arabian people.

I might first see them when I work at the airport. Then I follow them until the right moment. In the hotel it’s easier, because they put everything on the floor.

I first saw the man I was following today in the station. This month is vacation for people. They don’t put cash in the bank, they keep it, they don’t pay tax, they don’t use credit cards. I wanted to take his bag. He put it on the floor and went to buy a coffee. But a lady came near and there were a lot of people, so it didn’t work.

In Paris… in a week… it depends. I can make 10,000 euros, 5,000. I don’t think that’s a lot. In another week, I might make less. It’s luck.

I don’t use the credit cards. I’m looking for cash. Or maybe sometimes there’s a nice watch in the bag. I don’t use credit cards because I don’t have the PIN. For me, if I don’t have the PIN, I throw it out. Sometimes I put all the credit cards and ID in the post office box.

I was arrested last week. Maybe because I was working with other people. Maybe the police followed me. So now, I’m working by myself.

When I need partners, I go to the South American restaurants and I find them. I say please, give me a hand.

Yeah, arrested last week. I had to talk nice to the judge. She asked me, do you want to say something? I explained that I’m new in this country and it’s my first time. She believed me. She gave me a chance, said I can go. But I have to come back another day. A good judge will give you one chance because you have no precedent. She gave me 30 seconds, one minute to speak. I said I’m sorry, it’s my first time, I’m confused, please, I want one more chance. So I have to go back in one month. Then I will say the truth: yes, I took it, because I was confused. And I’ll say: forgive me. She’s going to ask me if I have a job and I’m going to say I’m working sometimes, I don’t have residency, but I’m working.

I was nervous in front of the judge because I could go to prison. But I’m not; and my partners also went free. But now I work alone.

I want to go back to my country. I’ve been to Spain, to Italy…. I hear the police in Barcelona are easy, and they’re harder here in Paris.

I can tell you about the police. The police here are smart, more professional. In Spain, they don’t do a good job. They don’t care. In Madrid, sometimes they say you have to pay 500, 300 euros, and you pay it, and you continue, and you pay and you continue. The life is good in Spain because it’s cheap, the country is cheap to live.

I’ve been to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm. I was in Stockholm for only two days a lot of years ago. I took big money, and then I took the train and, pssst! I left. Only two days there.