Pickpockets

Since it’s that the time of season, the Daily News has a helpful piece on pickpockets in today’s paper. Nothing groundbreaking, but it discusses the exotic-sounding School of Seven Bells, one of those Boo Radley-esque concepts that may or may not be an urban myth but is worth recounting (once again):

The worst of them are so slick that some cops believe they were trained at a legendary crime college in South America – the School of the Seven Bells.

The school, said to be in Colombia, has never been visited by a U.S. law enforcement official, and many believe it does not exist.

But as the legend goes, the final test at the school involves a teacher posing as a mark, his body booby-trapped with seven small bells, each strategically placed. To graduate, students must slip valuables from several pockets without ringing any of the bells.

Remember “School of the Seven Bells” for later use (lyrical, that!).

They also have a great glossary of “pickpocketing lingo”:

• The Pick – Snatching a valuable item from a person.
• The Dip – The thief who actually executes the pick.
• The Mark – The victim.
• Ripper – A fearless thief who brazenly rips or cuts items out of a pocket and runs.
• The Dish – A handoff. The thief who swiped the wallet gives it to another thief lurking nearby to prevent being caught.
• The Stall – A thief blocks the path of a walking target to allow a pickpocket to swoop in.
• Looping – Repeatedly passing a target or a store in order to steal something.

And don’t forget the colorfully named scams:

• The Squirt Job: A thief squirts a condiment like ketchup or mayonnaise on a victim’s jacket. The thief then points it out, or his partner points it out. While the victim wipes off the stain, the thief picks the pocket or bag.
• The Money Drop: A thief drops cash or other items in front of the victim walking down the street. Another thief comes from behind and picks the distracted victim’s pocket or swipes his or her bag.
• The Flat Tire: A thief looks for a driver sitting inside a car, punctures the car’s tire and then points it out. When the driver gets out of the car to inspect the tire, another thief steals valuables from the vehicle.
• The Bump: A thief bumps into a victim on the street, in a store or in the subway, giving his accomplice time to sneak up from behind and pick the jostled victim’s pocket.

To quote Hill Street Blues‘ Phil Esterhaus, “Let’s be careful out there!”