The underhand art of the pickpocket
The dubious skill that is stealing money and valuables from a victim's pocket
© Getty Images
Have you ever been pickpocketed? If the answer's "yes," well, you're hardly the first! We've been having our pockets picked by light-fingered thieves for hundreds of years. In the 17th and 18th centuries pickpockets operated out of all the major European cities, and those across the United States, too. Back then pickpocketing was considered a venerable crime carried out by stealth and sleight of hand rather than employing violence. But you could still be hanged for such an offense! Today, common pickpockets are as cunning as ever, and rarely caught carrying out their age-old craft. So, how did stealing money and valuables from a victim's pocket become such a specialized skill?
Click on and pick through this gallery for a lesson in larceny.
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