Examining How Pickpockets View their Targets
According to a sample of 20 “class cannons” (professional pickpockets) working the streets of Miami, Florida, their preferred marks (victims) are tourists who are relaxed, off guard, loaded with money, and lacking in clout with criminal justice officials. Some pickpockets choose “paps” (elderly men) because their reaction time is slower, but others favor “bates” (middle-aged men) because they tend to carry fatter wallets. A “moll buzzer” or “hanger binger” (sneak thief who preys on women) is looked down on in the underworld fra- ternity as a bottom feeder who acts without skill or courage. Interaction with victims is kept to a minimum. Although pickpockets may “trace a mark” (follow a potential target) for some time, they need just a few seconds to “beat him of his poke” (steal his wallet). This is done quietly and deftly, without a commotion or any jostling. They rarely “make a score” (steal a lot in a single incident). The class cannon
(Continued)
W H A T I S V I CT I M O LO G Y ? 25
9781337027786, Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, Ninth Edition, Karmen – © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
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some self-serving reason, wish to either exaggerate or downplay the real extent of the problem.
In order to make measurements, victimologists have to operationalize their concepts by develop- ing working definitions that specify essential char- acteristics and also mark boundaries, clarifying which cases should be included and which should be excluded. For example, when trying to deter- mine how many students have experienced school violence, should youngsters who were threatened
with a beating be counted, even if they were not actually physically attacked?
Once victimologists measure the frequency of some unwanted event per year, they can begin to search for changes over time to see if a particular type of criminal activity is marring the lives of a greater number or fewer people as time passes. To grasp the importance of making accurate measure- ments, consider the problem of child abuse. Suppose that statistics gathered by child protection agencies
“passes” (hands over) “the loot” (wallet, wad of bills) to a member of his “mob” (an accomplice) and swiftly leaves the scene of the crime. Only about one time in a hundred do they get caught by the mark. And on those rare occasions when the theft is detected, they can usually persuade their victims not to call the police. They give back what they took (maybe more than they stole) and point out that pressing charges can ruin a vacation because of the need to surrender the wallet as evidence, plus waste precious time in court appear- ances. Cannons show no hatred or contempt for their marks. In general, they rationalize their crimes as impersonal acts directed at targets who can easily afford the losses or who would otherwise be fleeced by businesses or allow their money to be taken from them in other legally permissible ways (Inciardi, 1976).
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