—From “Secrets of a Pickpocket Detective” by A.W. Martinez, from the October 21, 1950, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
As in most situations, a woman’s reaction to having her pocket picked is unpredictable, which may help to account for the pickpocket’s preference for male victims. Detective Dan Campion and a small-sized pickpocket named Stuttering Jake found this out together the hard way.
Stuttering Jake, only five feet tall, was a purse snatcher of long standing. Dan recognized him easily one day moving among a crowd of women shoppers at the corner of 34th Street and Sixth Avenue. Before he could get to him, though, there was a startled squeal, followed by shrieks of “Thief!” A flying wedge of ladies began to flail the little man with their handbags. As Dan pushed in, he was mistaken for a confederate, and he caught a flurry of blows about the head and midriff.
“Hey, ladies, wait! I’m a cop!” he cried, showing his badge and trying to ward off the flying handbags. The women paid no attention.
Then Jake spoke up. “Please, ladies, let him through,” he pleaded. “Honest, this guy really is a cop — he’s pinched me lots of times.”
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