CAUGHT - Red Handed or the Story of Pickpocket

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As many of you know, I live in France. Had my Mommy’s day out yesterday (Sunday). Anyway, let’s cut the the chase.

Went to WHSMith’s (an English Lang Bookstore) then walked to the Louvre station (line #1). Anyway, in line, waiting patiently for the ticket agent to get to me, (as an aside: people literally pushing in front of me in line, and me pushing back) I notice a sign the say that there are known pickpockets in the station, beware. So, I notice there are three or four boys (ranging in age from about 8-14) hanging around the turnstiles into the subway. I just keep watching. Then I notice something, they are kind of acting strangely. The youngest one is kind of just loitering near the turnstiles. The middle one is standing in front of them, and the oldest one is near the door. Hmmmm…I wonder. They certainly look suspicious.

Then I notice the middle boy, he’s looking at every single person after they buy their ticket, while they are on the way to and then eventually through the turnstiles. My place in line is coming up, but I keep one eye on them. Suddenly, the middle boy moves up to the turnstiles, right up behind a man who is about to go through. The man’s companion has already gone through, and it seems like they are in a hurry. The guy has a “male-purse” in his front and a vid camera case in the back. The kid goes after the camera case, I see him unzipping the case, and his hand in the case. I jump out of line and grab the guy, camera and the man in one fell swoop. Now, the guy, and the boy are between me and the small, narrow exit out of the turnstile. The man still (fortunately for him) had not yet gone through. I say to the man, in English (he spoke in English first) “This boy has his hand on your camera and is trying to steal it.”
We all step back, with the man and I still holding onto the boy’s jacket. As usual, most people are turning a blind eye and ignoring what is obviously a "situation."The man obviously is shocked, and pissed off. I tell the kid in English that he is caught. He tells me to suck his dick! I was shocked. It’s obvious French is not his first language, nor is English, but he’s mastered the typical obnoxious comment well.
Anyway, I recognize that there is nothing to be done, so I shout at the boy to leave the station. He again curses me out, and I tell him that he can tell that to the gendarmerie when the arrive. He doesn’t leave. He just hangs there while I’m in line. I get my turn, tell the man behind the counter IN FRENCH what happened. A woman behind me translates it into “better” French. He doesn’t even look up. I point to the kids and say, “LOok, they are still here. They are waiting to do this again. Can you please call the police?” Hmmm…he doesn’t give a shit, or the better known, “Not part of my job.” AAAArrrrrggggghhhhhh

Well, I was so pumped after that, but it sort of just fizzled out into a general disgust with humankind and the fact that not one bystander did or said anything to help. Now, one of the factors that might be responsible for this is the decrease in US tourists visiting Paris has caused the pickpockets to broaden their victim pool and therefore the people were just glad it wasn’t them.

Anyway, what would you have done in this situation. I figure the kid would’ve taken it, got the little kid to block the door, (you can’t get back through once you’ve gone in, wihtout a ticket) and the middle one would’ve tossed the camera to the older one by the door and the older one would’ve beat feet. When/if the cops showed up, “Where is the evidence?” The stolen item would’ve been absent and your poor tourist from some Scandinavian country would’ve missed out on the fun of showing the boring vacation video to his friends!

Arghhhhhh…

My MIL says nothing would’ve happened to the kids even if they were caught. What scares me is that they weren’t even scared of getting caught. I mean, when caught red handed, they didn’t even run or saunter away!

Ok, now, I’m over it. Lesson to tourists: BE CAREFUL! DON’T CARRY TOO MUCH STUFF, STAY AWAY FROM CROWDS AND KEEP YOUR STUFF IN FRONT OF YOU, NOT BEHIND YOU.

2

First of all, good for you!! So many people are willing to stand by and watch someone else be victimized. I commend you for taking a stand.

I would think that the other commuters would be more outraged at this. If there are less American tourists and they have to widen their pool of vicitms, then you would think they would be nervous that they may target more locals.

I hate when people turn a blind eye to crime. It just makes it okay for the little bastards to do it.

3

Thank you nutty bunny, you are very nice to respond. 151 views and one response. Is someone trying to tell me something?
A

4

They’re just acting it all out again for you in case you missed it the first time. They’d… rather… not… be… involved.

Quite seriously, it is difficult for people to decide what to do at such times. That is, in public places when faced with an unusual situation that might have an element of personal risk. Everybody waits for someone else to act.

In this case the act would be to support you, speak up and verbally assault the kid. They all waited for someone else to be the first and then there was their train coming and he might get violent - hell, there are a hundred reasons for not doing anything.

But one reason to do the right thing was enough for you, which makes you a pretty cool individual in my book.

If ever this situation arose again, and you wanted to use social psychology principles to work in your favour I would suggest you address individuals in the crowd, and ask them to do something very specific, and (to start with) unthreatening.

“You - go and tell the stationmaster to come here, please tell him it’s urgent! You - keep an eye on his friends over there - the one in the red jacket” and so on. Once one does what you say more should and more support should be available.

But tough that it happened that way for you.

And remember, it would be different in a smaller city. A large city breeds a tougher attitude.

Just as a huge Message Board makes it harder for small-town values to be shared around equally.

Redboss

5

It sucks doesn’t it…

Especially the part where they have absolutely no fear, they know they can get away with it!

Ugggghh !!!

Coming from someone who stood up to two big loud-mouthed racist bullies on a train, I’m glad that some people still want to get involved. I was asked afterwards why did I do what I did, and that I was stupid, because they may have had a gun. :rolleyes: That’s the reason for half the problems in society at the moment… people not getting involved.

I remember hearing about a girl who was raped on a train a year or so ago. Apparently, other passengers didn’t jump on the two guys, because one had a small knife. I would hope if I was getting raped in a public place, there would be at least a few people who were prepared to be slashed at when they attempted to overwhelm the bastards. I mean there was only two of them, and no guns !

Good on you :slight_smile:

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Good for you, Anahita. What a bunch of ratbastards.

I am getting hot under the collar just reading about this! ARGGGG!!!

7

Prague is a hot spot for pickpockets too. But the preferred method is to get about 6 to 10 guys all crowding around 1 victim on the tram/metro/escalator. Not much anyone can do except be blatant! I’ve reached into the middle of one of these groups and pulled people out. Pissed off some fairly large Ukranians, but I doubted that they would have done anything to me there.

I have taken a few people visiting on pickpocket tours. You go and ride the metro between the castle and the center back and forth and you’ll see them plain as day.

I do fear that one day I’m going to get hurt if I keep this up. I’m a Thai boxer and knife-fighter, but sheez, there is only so much you can do against multiple thiefs. Especially BIG multiple thiefs. And if a knife is involved, then it’s bad. Sorry, Goo, but a knife IS a deadly weapon, in many cases more so than a gun. A 2" deep, 6"+ long slash running through an arm, leg or throat will kill faster than a small little hole (think severed artery). While practicing one night with my knife I cut my little pinkie- 1/4 inch deep, 1/4 inch long- I ended up in the hospital because it would NOT stop bleeding. Don’t be fooled by knives- they kill.

On the flip-side, I wonder if it is one reason why Prague is so safe. There are very few violent crimes here. You can walk along the river at 2 am and not worry about getting mugged. I think it comes down to the fact that the wolves prey on the weak, seeking to maximise their profits. If they can get a wallet or camera off of a 65 yr. old German tourist easily, then they won’t try using guns in dark alleys. So, if you keep your wits about you and don’t have stuff hanging out of your pockets, then you won’t lose anything. Sad, but true.

-Tcat

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Fair play to you, Anahita. I hope the camcorder guy was suitably appreciative.

BTW, a swedish guy with a camcorder - the video might not have been that boring;)

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First of all, Redboss (Don’t know how to bold) can I just say I am so glad you responded to this thread. I am NOT flirting and considered sending this via email, but thought you might get the wrong idea. I am a Redboss fan. I read everything you post and always find reason, logic and just plain good ole’ common sense in it. Just wanted to say that, even though this is a rant, I admire your wit, and thank you for writing. Am I your first groupie? Your advice about picking people out of the crowd is helpful, hopefully, it won’t happen again. Sad to say, but I’m afraid most Parisians would ignore me sigh cause my French is not perfect!

Goo (again, bolded, d’uh) I can’t imagine just sitting there, I am a female and I’d do something if I saw that, dumb, but I am sure I would. Good for you that you stood up to someone on the train and yes, of course it’s dangerous, but then, who ever said fighting for what you believe in was going to be a safe ride. I am convinced that sometimes, you can make a difference. My brother once, during his poor college student days, had just received a nice watch from my mom for his birthday. He is a big guy, maybe 6’4’’ and 200lbs of muscle. Anyway, some punk on the train tried to mug him with a small knife. He caught my brother on the wrong day. My brother just held both his fists, forced him to sit down, and talk about what the hell he was doing. This kid was shocked. My brother explained to him that he was a poor college student, had just gotten the watch and did the kid think it was fair to take things that didn’t belong to him. (BTW, this was in Philly) They talked about it, all the while with my brother tightly holding this kid’s wrists but talking to him straight in the eyes. The kids was stunned. Not to say he wouldn’t do the same thing again, but maybe for the first and last time, he heard the victim’s (potential victim, in my brother’s case) side of the story. My b told him how disappointed my mom would be, after working so hard to earn the money to buy this watch to find that it had been pawned and bought by a stranger. Anyway, I am quite sure in my case, this boy will think twice before being so obvious when pickpocketing.

Anyway, thanks for listening, and I’m glad there are some people out there who will put themselves out on the line to help a stranger.
A

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Ever hear of Kitty Genovese? Here’s another link.

I usually have my cell phone in my backpack or flight bag. I’m one of those people who call the highway patrol to report road hazards and collisions. I would have called the French equivalent to 911. Who knows? French are stereotyped as not liking tourists. Maybe they thought, “Hey, it’s not one of us. The tourist should be more careful.”

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Fairplay Ana, I hope you dont take it as an insult when I say it takes “Testicular fortitude” to speak your mind.
I would be more peeved at the crowd who did nothing than the ticket store guy. Its a possibility that he has been warned not to say anything, after all, he has to stay there all day and has to leave the box at some stage.

12

You aren’t the only one.

I think a quick clothesline across the throat of the thief when he turned away with his loot would have been appropriate. At least we would have been in no position to tell Anahita to suck his dick.

The attendant desevered a good pummeling too.

You did a good thing, Anahita. Too bad those around you could not rise to the occasion as well.

13

{b}Anahita**, Cheers to you.

Last February, I had my pocket picked in Paris. Too bad you weren’t there to help me.

14

Good Job Anahita. There should be more people like you in the world. Not only because you stepped up to help someone, but because you recognized that something wasn’t right about the whole situation. Your tourist will probably be more careful about his stuff and have a pretty good story to tell everyone once he gets home.

I have no comment on those weasels who didn’t even try to help you. Well I do, but I’m a lady and my mother told me not to say those words.

15

Crap. That should have read: “At least he would have…”.

D’oh.

16

If I ever visit Paris, can I hang around with you?

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Well, within reason I am willing to “hang around” with anyone who visits Paris. At the very least, I’ll go around with you to see the sights, and maybe buy you lunch.

Has to be on a weekend, though!

All Dopers are invited! And I promise to protect you from the child pickpockets but NOT from the wild and crazy sex street near the George Pompidou center! Ooh-la-la!

A

18

I am with DEMISE. Put a few brusis on him.
Empty HIS pockets, maybe his address will be
there, and he’ll be worried his Mama will find
out.And if you have a permanant market write
THIEF on his forhead!

19

Marker! Ink pen. Make him have to scrub hard to remove his scarlet letter,

20

I caught one red-handed, too.

Mr. Pug and I were in Paris for the first time, and after visiting the Arch de Triomphe, were climbing back up to the street from the underground passage. The place was somewhat empty, so I was surprised to feel “crowded” as I was climbing. I turned, and there were two teenage girls, one with my wallet in her hand, halfway out of my purse. I grabbed my wallet away from her and Mr. Pug started yelling at her. They both looked blandly unconcerned and walked away. He followed them for awhile, yelling, but no one around showed any concern.

The thing is, I had bought a small “touring” purse and had been careful to keep it in front of me at all times. However, when I climbed the stairs, I was using both hands for balance and to keep ahold of the railing, and so my purse was behind me for just a minute.

Damn those bitches! It makes me mad all over again.